Cloak and Fangs
by DrekkDeina
Summary: Based upon the Red Riding Hood fairy tale, prepare to follow the adventures of Scarlett Ryder as she expands her view of the world around her rather abruptly, all upon meeting a young man who isn't entirely a man. Only naming himself as Fen, she pursues an interest in the strange person, forming a strange bond, involving herself in all kinds of strange things.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome all fans of Red Riding Hood, as well as fans of mine who wandered into the page by accident. **

**As the title says, This is my original work Cloak and Fangs. It's a romanticized disambiguation of the fairy tale and an old idea I've had since I was a wee lil lad. It's obviously evolved since then, but the idea is mine and no one else's. I use elements of culture and tech in an AU Earth from eras of the Renaissance to the Victorian Era. There is the occult present, alchemy, and elements of the gothic within. **

**One BIG BIG thing. I am only releasing this one chapter publicly. As opposed to other works I have with a base off a copyrighted content... this story is my own original brainchild from top to bottom. Thusly, this story will be exclusive from here onwards on my atreon with a 'P' under the same name as my account. XD**

**I am releasing this first chapter here, amongst all other venues I use, because I most definitely want to garner your interest and support. If this isn't your thing, no worries. This is a labor of love for me and I hope to play it out. **

**Anywho, I'll stop boring you with the details and let you decide if this is worth the plunge. **

* * *

"Where is it?" a voice called out to no one in particular, small hands rummaging around in a large chest.

The girl made tepid grunts and huffed slightly, moving things both big and tiny to find her prize. With an 'Aha!', she finally pulled out a hooded red cloak, throwing it over her shoulders and tying off the front.

Dressed for a trip, the girl began to gather items in a satchel.

Some apples. Some bread. A pastry.

Scarlett Ryder was her name, with eyes of mossy green, reflecting that of nature, and hair that was as brown as the bark on trees. Freckles lightly dusted her face just below her eyes, her skin a paler peach.

She lived alone in her cottage at the edge of a town called Stone Glades, a dense forest at her home's back and surrounding the town. Being at the age of twenty-three, she was often looked upon with curiosity for not looking to get married as so many other women in the town had well before her age.

Scarlett had her reasons, of which she cared not to tell the onlookers who seemed to be critical of her motives, justified or no.

Sitting down to pull the laces on her long boots, she looked out the window and noticed the cloud cover, internally remarking that she needed to hurry before any unsettling weather came in.

Grabbing her satchel, the girl rushed out the door, red cloak flapping behind her with the light breeze that rushed in.

Her grandmother resided within the forest, none too far, but still far enough to worry over the distance when weather or darkness were a factor. So, Scarlett offered to bring her food and such occasionally, since it was tedious for an old woman to visit town all the time for supplies. She was also too stubborn to move closer, greatly voicing her disdain for living in such close quarters with all the 'noisy' people.

Raising her hood, she walked with speed and purpose into the forest, a gust of wind trying to lift up her knee length skirt. She might have felt a chill if Scarlett hadn't worn stockings. It was still a bit too early in the season for warmer clothing, but her instincts told her it was right.

The trees canopy above her rustled with an erratic breeze, leaves letting small beads of light bleed through at random. It was still daytime but the pattern above her looked like twinkling stars.

There was a crunch of brush and pebbles beneath her boots, echoing in the tranquil forest.

Eventually she could hear the rush of a stream, with a bridge coming into her line of sight. To her, that meant she was halfway to her destination, picking up her pace to cross the wooden structure.

Upon reaching it, however, she heard a groan and a small scuffle, the girl pausing to look around. She couldn't see nor hear anything following the previous noise, making her slightly worried. In the middle of the bridge, no one could sneak up on her without giving themselves away, unless…

She looked over the railing of the bridge, seeing a leg pull itself under, another low groan made Scarlett leap over the railing and land on the bank of the creek.

Under the edge of the bridge… was a boy, likely her age, if not within a year or two. It was hard to tell with his face in the shade. He was dressed lightly, in black tattered wraps on his hips and legs, with a loosely fitting top that looked a bit worn itself.

Her eyes gravitated towards the hand he had holding his side, fingers coated in blood. Instantly reacting, the hooded girl pulled a cloth from her satchel and moved his hand to look at the wound. It looked as if a sharp object sliced into him or grazed him.

There was a whine from him, seeming almost canine in tone, making Scarlett perk up to give him a curious glance. His head dipped but eyes looked up, shining a bright amber with blue at the center of his iris.

"How are you fairing?" she asked, reaching into her satchel once more.

"I'm fine," he remarked simply, voice soft and sounding a bit husky in tone. The hooded girl rolled her eyes and put the apple in his open mouth, having soaked the cloth in the stream and putting it to his wound.

There was a definitive whimper and a crunch as the boy bit into the apple.

"What happened?" she asked definitively, hearing him hiss in pain as his eyes flitted up and down, from her own eyes to the hand on his wound.

He opened his mouth to speak once more…

...until heavy footfalls shook the bridge above, a slew of curses pouring forth from the foul mouth of a gruff sounding man.

"By the blazes," the voice yelled out, "where did that damn beast go!?"

The boy seemed to shrink into the underside of the bridge, his breathing stilled and eyes going wide with fear.

Scarlett was confused, having looked into his eyes and seeing an odd sight, aside from his fear. His pupils became slits, reflecting something more akin to a wild animal. It was even more so reflected in his demeanor, the boy curling against the underside of the bridge and using the shade to its fullest effect to look like he wasn't there.

Another set of boots stomped on the bridge, with huffing pants sounding out.

"What are you chasing?" a second man asked while trying to catch his breath.

There was the click of a musket being cocked, the man above apparently having reloaded his rifle.

"I saw that beast that everyone talks about," the first man spoke low and in a deadly tone.

"The wolf?"

"It's more than that. That damn thing is something unnatural. I saw it turning from one form to another, so I shot it."

The girl raised an eyebrow, keeping quiet for reasons unknown to her, but was more concerned about the strangely silent boy.

"You think those werewolf legends about these woods are true?" the second man, who seemed more sensible in tone, questioned. There was a sigh from the first man.

"I don't know but I wasn't about to let that unholy sight turn into my demise," came a fiery retort. The duo's footfalls began to take them off and away from the bridge.

There were minutes of solemn silence, with tepid stares between the two.

Once she was sure the two men were far enough away, she chanced voicing herself by asking, "Did that have anything to do with you?"

The boy's eyes widened, his body shifting uncomfortably. Her own eyes narrowed at him.

"Before you answer, remember that I have a hand on your wound and I can give it a good press…"

"They were hunting me," he barely muttered, his gaze looking down and away from anything in particular.

Scarlett laughed slightly.

"It's not like you're actually some sort of werewolf," the girl sassed sarcastically. "Those two are just belligerent morons. If we get you back to town, I'm sure we can help you better. We'll tell others about those two as well. I couldn't see their faces, but…"

He grasped her wrist rather tight, with her feeling him shaking.

"No… please," he pleaded.

The hooded woman finally got a good look at the dark haired male, with the sun peaking out to reflect off the stream and cast a shimmer on them both.

She didn't notice before, but the boy's head, with hair of onyx black, had ears that seemed to mimic a wolf, with silver tips.

Scarlett gasped and fell back, the boy reaching out to grip her arm and steady her.

"You actually are…" she began, with his ears pinning back in fear of her tone. The look on his face melted her heart, hardly believing this boy was the beast her village liked to spread the tales of all so often.

A beast that hid itself among other humans, feeding on them and using its ability to look like them to garner favor and keep others from attacking them outright. When the moon was full or they chose to, their form was supposedly far more violent and feral, or so the stories went.

In front of her now though… was a boy that seemed far more scared and confused by his predicament than she was by the now brittle validity of those tales.

Speaking of tails… Scarlett now noticed the wispy silver tip of a long black one that whipped back and forth behind him.

"What's your name?" she managed to speak, still unsure how to approach the unknown factor of the strange animalistic boy before her.

With both of them now steady, the blue amber eyed boy squatting in a most feral position, he worked his mouth, unsure what to do for a moment before muttering, "I'm… F-Fenr… Fen. Just Fen."

"Alright 'Just Fen', I'm Scarlett."

"Don't take me into town," Fen barely whispered. "They won't understand. This isn't the first time I've dealt with… those kinds of people."

"So are you…?" Scarlett began, letting the boy finish the implied question in his head. He nodded, standing up and holding his side.

"I'm not a beast though… I didn't ask to be this way," he spoke softly, turning away, but still keeping his gaze locked onto her.

Her hand reached out to clasp his own, as she spoke, "I didn't mean to make you think that. You seem nice… and really gentle. Are you going to be ok?"

"I heal quickly," the boy replied, giving her hand a squeeze and releasing it, beginning to walk away.

Getting up, Scarlett called out, "Wait!"

He paused a second, turning to glance once more at her.

"Will I… see you again?" she barely mumbled. His ears twitched, seeming to hear every word easily.

"You… want to see me again?"

The girl nodded, grabbing her satchel and stepping closer to him.

"I have to make sure you're ok," came her reply.

Fen smiled.

"Will you be making a return trip along this path tomorrow?"

"Yeah… I have to deliver some stuff to family in the woods," she supplied.

Pulling away, he spoke to her gently, "Stick to the path. I'll find you tomorrow then."

"Alright…"

0000000

Coming up to her grandmother's home, she ran up the stoop and gave an energetic knock to her front door, stepping back to patiently wait. It wasn't long before she heard the bar that held the door closed moving with a grinding thump, the heavy door swinging freely to allow her entrance.

Inside, her grandmother stood smiling and dressed to cook.

"You're just in time," she called out in a soft tone, gesturing for her granddaughter to come in. "I was making a stew."

Walking through the threshold, Scarlett lowered her hood.

"Thanks, Gran," the girl responded, taking a seat close to the heart, a fire lit within and a pot hanging above with a simmering stew. She could smell the savory meatiness of it, taking a long draw of breath to let it soak in.

Several minutes passed with near silence, the hooded girl having spooned many mouthfuls of delicious stew into her maw, her grandmother staring with a kind smile and waiting patiently for something to pass.

"So… something on your mind?" she asked evenly, taking up a piece of wood, beginning to whittle at it with a small knife. "Usually, you are quite vocal as soon as you enter the door."

Gulping and trying to figure out how to approach her recent eventful encounter in the forest, she instead tried to focus on something else entirely. It didn't work but she was able to find a compromise that involved not revealing the whole truth.

"I came across some hunters shouting about a beast or something," Scarlett mentioned. "They seemed pretty dead set on the belief that it was real."

"I'm sure they were just seeing things," the elder woman said with a shrug. "Nothing to fear, my child."

"Do you know anything about werewolves? Or the tales they tell about them around the village?"

"Of course I do," her Gran stated as a matter of factly, "but they are simply tales. I'm old enough to know that people always like to tell a good tale. Maybe there is a hint of truth to them, but most telling them like the attention."

"Just humor me," Scarlett offered, setting her now empty bowl down to listen intently.

The older lady sighed, giving the younger a smile as she detailed, "There are many such tales that span decades around this area telling of monsters that bridge the gap between man and beast. Werewolves are basically the center of them all in this region, but little proof has been shown that they exist. Some hunters like to talk about the work of a pack of feral wolves or maybe even a gruesome murder and paint it as the work of such a thing."

The red hooded woman mulled the explanation over, choosing her next words carefully.

"So,... they aren't real?" she inquired curiously.

"I never said that," her grandmother sassily rebuked. "Whether they are real or not is not the question you posed to me. I merely tried to impart to you that you can't listen to tales that might be leaned by fear and malice against things that are different."

"Oh…" Scarlett breathed.

0000000

Leaving her grandmother's home, after a short farewell, Scarlett trudged back down the path, her feet feeling as heavy as her mind.

The sun was fading fast behind the treeline, an orange glow lining the horizon with its burning brightness. The wind was picking up, cloud cover rolling back in to create a multi colored sky.

"Oi! Girl!" a gruff voice called out, seeming slightly familiar to her. She turned, being greeted by a rather large and imposing man who seemed misshapen and unkempt, hefting a musket rifle and patting a knife at the sheath on his hip. "Have you seen a beast around here?"

His voice struck her the same way as the man who was furious from earlier… though his words seemed more slurred. A thought occurred and made Scarlett look to the other side of his hip, a bottle that looked empty hanging from it's fastening.

He was drunk now, his friend from before likely gone for the evening.

"I have not," she replied simply, trying to make her path away from the potential drunkard.

Despite the distance between them, he somehow closed the gap quickly and gripped her arm in a vice.

"I asked you a question, girl…" he slurred. "Show some respect to your elders and answer."

"I told you I have not seen any such thing!" the hooded girl yelled out, twisting herself around to pull her arm from his firm hold.

She was unfortunately struck across the face, thrown to the ground and gasping in shock.

"You can't give me such lip," the hunter spoke low and with malicious intent. He lowered himself, raising a hand to cup a cheek and use his thumb to brush away a lock of hair. His face closed in, the stench of alcohol burning away at her nose from his breath as she tried to push him away.

The man used an arm to pin her leg painfully, with Scarlett ready to scream, the hunter's weight pressing increasingly so upon her.

"I'll have to teach a rebellious girl like you a lesson…." came his aggressive tone, the hand on her leg gravitating higher, much to her panic and fear.

The weight was suddenly lifted from her, with the hunter's eyes going wide as he seemed to be pulled away against his will.

A growing growl, shortly followed by a savage snarl, echoed through the forest, as a dark figure almost effortlessly lifted the hunter up and gave him a tentative sniff. The creature seemed disgusted, turning his face away and tossing the hunter several feet away, his pained grunt sounding out as he hit the ground rolling.

Quickly rising to her feet, the hooded girl began to turn and run, stopped short by a tug to her cloak.

Rounding with a furious fire in her eyes, ready to strike, she hesitated upon seeing a familiar sight.

The boy, Fen, was before her, blue/amber eyes trained on her and tail swishing in an agitated fashion behind him.

"Are you alright?" he spoke in his soft voice, casting a glance towards the stirring hunter, recovering from his recent toss.

"I'm just fine," she voiced angrily, tugging her cloak from the boy's grip. She hadn't a chance to observe him too much before, denoting his average height and lean build, looking well toned in form with arms that seemed a bit larger than his frame might suggest. He stood almost a head taller than her, though that didn't say much, as she was barely taller than five feet to begin with.

Giving the hunter another look, she realized how imposing his frame was, being something that seemed twice the size of Fen's own likeness, giving way to confusion at how he so effortlessly threw him aside like an empty knapsack.

Seeing the hunter stir, his mouth parted and a snarl left it, scaring the hooded girl. She clearly saw fangs protruding from him, ready to rip flesh asunder.

Fen calmed down almost instantly when he turned to see her look, making the quickest transition from looking like a fierce predator to a scared and timid animal. It greatly jarred at Scarlett, her heart feeling a small tug in response.

"I'm sorry," he barely whispered, backing away from the hunter.

The boy seemed ready to run, pausing to give her a glance and seeing the older man struggle to rise to his feet once more. Shaking his head in some internal struggle, he darted with inhuman speed towards her, picking her up and leaping into the trees.

From branch to branch they leapt, with Scarlett hanging on for dear life, the wind rushing past her ears and making her hair flail about wildly.

After many minutes of such leaps and bounds, Fen finally relented to stopping and letting his quarry down from holding her in a cradle position in his arms. He began panting from sheer exhaustion, doubling over to catch his breath.

The hooded woman knelt down and tried to help, resting a hand on his chest and trying to feel the beat of his heart.

What she hadn't expected was that her hand would not touch fabric, but the deep v-neck of his tunic, with her hand resting upon and digging into a very dense though soft layer of what could only be fur. The girl felt like she should have pulled back, with such a thing seeming unnatural in this setting, but Scarlett found herself curling her fingers to dig in slightly, relishing the feel.

Much to either one's surprise, a deep rumble emanated from Fen's chest, making him blush in reaction to it or possibly even her.

Trying to deflect the awkwardness, having pulled her hand back, the girl stated, "You came back for me…"

"I was… worried."

"That's my line," she fired back. "You were the one shot and somehow walking away."

He lifted his shirt, giving her a glance at the previous spot where the wound would have been…

...to which she was greeted by smooth flesh and a small pink mark, like a faded scar.

"I came back because… I never thanked you…" he voiced, tone shaking with a lack of confidence that seemed very well exuded during his short fight with the hunter.

Scarlett began to laugh heartily, falling backward and clutching her middle as her legs kicked.

"You came back to… thank me?" she was barely able to bark out between giggles.

"Is that so difficult to believe?" Fen supplied in inquiry to the boisterous and chuckle bound woman.

Finally ceasing her laughter, she gave him a kind smirk, saying, "I just find your simple intent rather cute."

The dark haired boy blushed further, his cheeks becoming a darker red, ears twitching and tail flicking. He crouched low and went on all fours, stalking closer to her and sniffing the air.

Suddenly, she felt like she was on the defensive, blushing as his nose came within inches of her face. There was the clear sound of him drawing short but rapid breaths, taking in her scent and making her self conscious of it all. His head dipped down, nose digging into her neck and causing Scarlett to let out a small gasp.

Something warm and wet raked over the skin on her neck, with the only viable assumption being that it was Fen's tongue.

The hooded girl yelped and shuffled back awkwardly, trying to distance herself from the strange boy before her, completely unprepared for the odd show of affection… or whatever that was.

"Sorry," he whispered, backing up and sitting back. "I just thought you smelled… familiar."

"Familiar or not, you don't go licking my neck!" came her furious complaint. The wolf boy's ears pinned back, his face looking rather downtrodden and chastened. It softened her heart to see such a pure boy acting as he did, so honest and without hiding his emotions.

Sighing, she followed up by telling him, "Just… try to ask me before you go doing things like that… alright?"

He nodded feverishly, happy at a chance to quell her anger. Fen came in close again, tail swishing around happily.

"Can I accompany you to the edge of the forest?"

This surprised her, remembering that he seemed so well against going anywhere near town before.

"I thought you didn't want to go into town?" Scarlett began in question.

The boy's ears dipped once more as he thought on it, replying with, "I don't, so I was going to accompany you to the edge of the woods and let you make your way without me."

"Fair enough," the girl conceded. "I won't stop you… but will you feel safe?"

"I… can hold my own," he offered half heartedly, looking away and trying to hide a dejected look.

Scarlett cupped his cheek and turned Fen's face to meet her own, pressing her forehead to his as she spoke, "Don't force yourself to follow me if you don't feel so inclined. I'm a big girl. I can handle myself."

With eyes wide and casting a glance up towards her own, his cheeks warm and glowing red, he looked down and gave her a timid nod, backing away with a quivering lip.

"Goodbye, Scarlett. I'll see you tomorrow still, I should hope."

At that, he got up and turned away, leaping into the dense canopy of trees.

The hooded girl felt a bit abandoned, not knowing exactly where she was left to pick herself up and scout the way back.

To her enormous relief, there were the distant flickers of torches and smoke trails of the town nearby, with her home a not so distant blip within sight.

Almost without an ability to measure time, her dazed footsteps took her through the threshold of her home and into bed, collapsing with barely the mental energy to bar her door and light a fire in the hearth for the night's coming chill.

Sleep came almost too quickly, her eyelids becoming heavy and closing with finality towards rest.

0000000

The next few days were met with passing meetings and soft spoken conversations. It was quite clear to Scarlett after only the first such meeting that he was not very social in any aspect, his demeanor and approach to interactions being more animal than human.

The hooded girl was finding herself much in preference of it, to be honest, with his proclivity to be as he was towards her a boon of pure hearted honesty and will.

Men had tried to court her rather crudely before, treating her as more of a commodity to the home than an actual person to be considered. The hunter's drunken and fumbling failed attack on her was not the first attempt, as shocking and off putting as it was. She was never truly taken advantage of, but there was no lack of trying on occasion.

Fen was different. He was clearly intrigued by her, though whether romantic or purely animal curiosity, she could not say as of yet. To think he was some bloodthirsty werewolf seemed a laughable delusion at this point, with her interactions of him denoting a rather sensitive and fearful boy who only wanted companionship.

Even so, it was rather obvious that he wasn't human. His differences did make him wary of others, with it being evident when walking together and his ears would perk at every sound that seemed human or human influenced. A rifle shot. A trap snapping shut. A spark of stones to start a fire. Even heavy footsteps breaking branches.

Despite all the reservations, Scarlett found herself interested in knowing him further, wanting to spend more time with him.

On her back stoop, staring out into the forest, like she had taken up doing for the past few nights, the girl watched the swaying branches and leaves in the fading light of the sunset.

It was about time for her to think about heading in to fix herself something for dinner and possibly head off to sleep.

Getting up to go inside, she heard a groaning sound, freezing and turning to see someone limping and shuffling towards her home.

"Scarlett…" Fen's voice called out weakly, with her having instantly recognized his soft tone. She bolted to him across the gap that lie between them, catching the dark haired boy before he could fall.

Nearly dragging his limping body all on her own, she was about to get him up into her cottage and set him into the chair in front of her hearth, the light from the fire illuminating the problem that affected him so.

His tattered clothing was ever more so, with multiple tears and cuts across the wraps and other such fabric. Blood seeped slowing from many shallow wounds, his leg being of greatest concern, with a sizeable gash running along the outside in a diagonal fashion.

"What happened?" she called out to him, his eyes heavy and dazed, barely able to look her straight in the eye, let alone respond to her.

"Hunter attacked… I ran… and then…. A bear…" he barely mumbled to her, Scarlett rummaging through her supplies and getting out as much bandaging cloth as she could, filling a pot with water and sticking it over the fire to warm it.

Sighing in reaction to his short explanation, the hooded girl found a bag of herbs, dipping the poultice in the water and pressing it to his most concerning wound.

Fen whined and whimpered in pain, trying his best not to thrash but still digging claws into her chair.

….claws?

The light was flickering, but her sight offered her a view well enough to see what was different.

Fen was definitely changed in some manner, with his face covered by a dark fur that seemed dense, though soft. His arms and legs were similar, with longer fangs and his hands beginning to resemble paws with claws.

"Are you… changing?" she dared to ask of the boy.

His eyes went wide, lifting a hand/paw to stare intently at it with fear, then drifting his gaze to her, eyes watering slightly.

He tried to get up and run, putting too much weight on his bad leg and falling to the floor.

"Woah! Stop moving, Fen," she pleaded, trying to guide him back to the chair once more. He meekly fought against her, tears now falling liberally from his eyes, staining the fur of his cheeks. "What's wrong? What did I do?"

"It's not you… it's me…" he breathed, a raspy whisper to his voice that made her heart break to hear, a pain coming to the surface that she hadn't felt from him yet. "There is another side of me… that I don't want to come out. I'm scared…"

Eventually endeavoring to sit him back down, Scarlett let the inquiry go, hoping to allay his fears later, though his seeping wounds took precedence.

Working expeditiously, she laboriously made sure to bandage and cover any wounds she could find. In the process, she had to remove most of his clothing, needing the shredded garments he wore out of the way, barring a stray scrap of fabric getting lodged underneath a bandage and agitating a wound.

Though she felt a bit guilty thinking so, she mused about the form that lie before her. With the loose clothing on previously, it was difficult to ascertain the level of musculature he had, what with seeing the wolf boy throw a man larger than him with ease.

He looked like a man that was turning into a feral creature, a lean build with less meat on the bones than most men she knew, but well defined. She placed a hand on his chest, the dense and short fur feeling very soft, almost like the furs that hunters brought back for use in clothing.

His eyes hazily focused on her hand, a deep rumbling growl vibrating his torso, followed by a tepid whine.

"Is that… part of your process?" Fen asked in a hushed tone, uncertainty lining his voice.

Scarlett saw his face flush, smiling up at him as she couldn't help but compare this boy to an animal in his reactions, with the most recent one reminding her of a neighbor's pet during a belly rub.

"Sorry," she remarked. "I got a little distracted."

Thankfully, he hadn't seemed to pick up on anything, cocking his head to one side and swiveling an ear towards her. There was an innocence to his way of thinking that tugged at her heart strings.

Shaking her head at the last thought, the girl made final adjustments to his bandages, stepping back to allow him to try moving a bit.

Fen gave himself a curious stare, immediately using his hands to tug and flick at the bandage edges.

"It's itchy…" he whined, ears pinning down. Scarlett was having a difficult time not breaking into a smile at his antics, each of which was oddly cute in her eyes.

"But they'll keep unwanted things out and allow you to heal properly," she managed to say in a serious tone, smacking a hand of his away from the neat wrappings.

"I'll be fine…" he murmured weakly.

"Then why did you come to me?"

Fen's eyes bulged out, blinking in mild surprise, as it seemed even he didn't seem to know exactly why. Grabbing the blanket that was provided to him, he covered himself.

Lowering his head, he muttered, "I was scared… and alone."

The flickering gaze up to Scarlett's eyes, blue/amber eyes casting down and away, as if contemplating something he may have done wrong, struck another cord within her.

"Alright… but why me? And why would they attack you like that?"

"I don't know…," Fen barely spoke. "It was the same hunter from before and he seemed bent on capturing or killing me."

He took a breath and continued, "As for why I came to you… I think it's because you don't treat me like they do. I'm… hu… a person to you."

"Were you gonna say 'human'?" She asked almost rhetorically. He nodded, looking at his hand/paw in lamentation. "What's this other side you're so scared of?"

Fen's eyes locked onto her, pupils now confined down to predatory slits, a low growl to his voice as he said, "I'm a werewolf, cursed to walk as neither human or animal, but a fusion of both. When I'm calm, I can retain my more human form… but during full moons or when I'm in great distress… my more primal side comes to the surface."

"A-alr-right," she stuttered at first, clearing her throat in an effort to collect herself. His words weren't so imposing to cause her nervousness so much as the intimidating stare from him now. "But why does it scare you?"

The wolf boy's eyes reverted back to a more rounded and human look, with a hazy and glazed detail to them now that seemed as if he might shed a tear.

"I can't control my other side… not well at least," Fen's tone voiced softly, a small amount of cracking to it. "I've hurt people in the past and I fear what I'll do every time I feel close to changing."

"You don't seem dangerous to me," Scarlett spoke, moving in closer. The wolf boy tensed up and dipped his head down, digging his chin into his collarbone. Her open hand pressed to his chest, with the upper portion exposed from the blanket. Her fingers dug into his chest fur, running side to side and causing his breathing to grow slower.

His chest rose high and fell slow, the fur seeming to disappear mostly, giving way to human skin once more. Fen's fangs receded and claws turned back into nails.

The hooded girl could feel his heartbeat become slow but still seemed powerful, with each beat sending shivers up her arm.

"See?" she told him, giving the boy a kind smile. "You aren't dangerous. And I won't hurt you."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this! **

**Another thing... **

**I'm also releasing this today specifically because, as of three years ago today, it was the day I asked out and began dating the love of my life, of whom I've based my main female lead off of. **

**Yes... I asked her out on April Fool's day. Surprised? I was. I didn't even know until she called me the next day wondering if asking her happened to be a joke. I was almost tempted to say yes to tease her... but then I might never have heard from her again. haha. **

**Thanks again for your interest! **


	2. Chapter 2

**I made an error in thought concerning this piece of work. Though I'm confident of the story content, it seems unfair to debut this work on Pa-tree-on exclusively, when only like 4 people can see it. XD haha. **

**So... until I garner enough interest to justify my earlier sentiment, I'll be launching it as I see fit. For this chapter, I'm going to give it straight to the public for all to see. **

**Be Free!  
**

**Anyhow, I'm hoping people, whether my avid followers, or new people specifically looking for this, are enjoying it thus far. Yes, the first chapter was a bit... condensed. That was mostly on purpose. I wanted to showcase the elements of what I wanted people to see I'm trying to do, but it gets somewhat slower in plot from here. I plan to have this story play itself out for a long while. Lots of twists and turns and a few dark tinges too. **

**A word for you though... this work is in inspiration of and for the love of my life. So, it's a labor of love I deign to share with all. I will take criticism, though do not expect me to modify my methods and writing because people dislike something I wrote. To note as well, this is a mature work that will have violence, gore, sexually implicit and explicit stuff (eventually) **

**NOW THEN, enjoy, read, fav, follow, review, and grab that strange snack. I'm getting myself some cheese bread stuffed with spicy bbq chips. No, it's technically not a thing but I like putting soft and crunchy together. **

* * *

Fen's arms encircled Scarlett faster than she could react, a small gasp of surprise leaving her mouth as the wolf boy embraced her tightly, a small heave to his chest as she heard small whimpers from him.

"That's all I ever really wanted to hear," he murmured into her ear in a whisper. While she couldn't see it, she could tell he was in tears. Asking as to his health, physical or emotional, seemed a moot point in light of what seemed obvious.

Her arms slowly wrapped around him, heat pouring from him like the warmth from a sun soaked stone. It heated her to her very core, bringing a blush and a smile to her cheeks.

Fen was almost like an animal, afraid and trepidatious of humans, taking those tentative sniffs and licks of an outstretched hand to ascertain whether someone is dangerous.

Her grin fell upon contemplating the nature of his soft spoken nature and skittish tendencies. Found and attacked by hunters, whom would likely only perpetuate the tales of him being a beast, given over to savagery, the boy should have grown to hate humans. Someone of his supposed strength, as he had displayed, would surely be able to defend himself.

However…

He was so afraid of his own 'in between' nature that he didn't feel he belonged to either human or animal realms.

Scarlett squeezed him tighter, tears pricking the corner of her own eyes in growing sympathy to his circumstance.

In addition to all of that, his refusal to use such strength to perpetuate that fear of him in order to gain solitude because he didn't want to hurt others… only made him ripe for torture by opportunists. Ousted by humans and demonized, she could see no reason he would be as kind as he seemed, but he was.

"So… you're staying here tonight, right?" she dared to ask, trying not to sound too eager of the prospect.

"I… uh… should probably get back out there," he mumbled. "I don't do well near towns."

Scarlett's face became stern and admonishing as she stood tall, though somewhat diminutive compared to the wolf boy, hands on her hips as she cocked them to one side and spoke firmly, "Let me correct myself… You ARE staying here tonight. I'm not letting your wandering paws shed those bandages until you are healed. Plus, they would need changing eventually. Do you know how to do that?"

With ears pinned back and tail tucked, Fen smiled sheepishly and shook his head in the negative, barely able to hold eye contact with the fiery girl.

"I heal too quickly for me to think about that…" he began, seeing her gaze harden on him, whereas he amended, "...but I'll stay the night to make sure I do."

The short girl reached up to tussle Fen's hair, his face scrunching up and shoulders bracing as she did so.

A thought occurred to her, a sting of guilt ready to strike if she were right in her deduction.

"Am I keeping you from a family? A home you need to check in on?" Scarlett inquired quietly.

Curious eyes met hers, a light behind them that gave her some hope as he answered, "They'll be fine without me for a night. I've been gone far longer than a night on a regular basis. A den can get pretty cramped sometimes."

Scarlett perked up in confusion, trying to process the one word that didn't quite fit in that entire reply.

"Den?" she asked. "As in… with wolves?"

"Mhm," came his immediate response, a happier tone to his voice and tail swishing behind him.

"How… but you can talk like…" the girl stumbled in her wording, clearing her throat with Fen giving her a tilted head and inquisitive gaze. "You seem so… intelligent for one who lives with wolves… no offense…"

The wolf boy seemed far from offended, face falling slightly as he contemplated an answer with a scratch to the back of his head.

"I… had a real family, though for now these wolves are kind and caring to me," he explained. "As for… intelligence… there is a kind woman who has helped me since I was small. Educated me and taught me what I know…"

"Kind woman?"

"Yeah… I haven't seen her in sometime, though," he softly spoke as his ears fell. "After a certain age, I felt like a burden on her."

"You should visit her," Scarlett stated in support to his supposed lamentation. "When you're healed of course. Best not to worry her."

"You mind if I get some sleep then?" Fen questioned in a mild tone, voice laden with a hazy sleepiness to it.

"Sure! Just let me clear my bed, so you can use that," the woman offered, quickly getting up to go to her room and ready the bed.

The few minutes she spent away from the wolf boy gave her mental room to mull over the knowledge she now obtained from him.

Apparently, Fen had a family but lived with the very creatures in the forest that the tales seemed to circle around. He was getting some form of education from a woman who lived in the forest as well. He also had to evade hunters who seemed to have it out for him and want him dead, most recently and especially that hunter who was tossed like a ragdoll those few nights ago by the boy himself.

Barreling into her room, Scarlett began to hastily pick up the leftover mess that obscured her floor. After having dumped the mess into either a corner or a chest, she quickly made the bed, sniffing the sheets and deeming them clean enough to not change out. It wasn't like she was hosting some sort of noble but the girl felt some sort of obligation to 'prep' the room for a guest.

The wolf boy limped his way in, startling her with his premature entrance.

"I wasn't… uh… nevermind. You can sleep here."

Fen all too eagerly made his way to the bed and slowly settled in, splaying his limbs out as comfortably as his injuries would allow. He seemed to be rolling around and sniffing the air, a scent unknown to her being something of interest to him.

She made to exit the room, deigning to give him the room for the night and sleep in front of the hearth on the chair that the boy just vacated. With a couple blankets and a small pillow, she would be fine.

A small whimper made her freeze in mid step and turn to see if her guest was in distress. A light gasp left her mouth as she witnessed something endearing.

The wolf boy was curled up like an animal on top her bed, tail curled around his legs and chin resting just over an arm, his eyes looking pleadingly into hers.

"Where are you going?" Fen asked innocently, blue/amber eyes perusing her curiously.

"I'm giving you some privacy," Scarlett spoke plainly, trying to be a thoughtful host. "I'll sleep near the fire. It wouldn't do for us to share a room, much less a bed."

His ears perked and head tilted to the side in confusion as he inquired of her, "Why not? This bed is big enough for both of us."

The hooded girl blushed, mouth working open and closed as she fought for a reason to refute him. The innocence of which he asked that question was so much so that she couldn't muster the will to tell him why. It wasn't like she could say that most in this day and age were ingrained to believe that it was shameful to share a bed with a man you weren't married to, herself included. She was intelligent enough to know he wouldn't understand the concept if it didn't already occur to him.

"It's... it's not right for…" the girl began, shedding her red cloak to hang it up for the night. Her sentence fell short when Fen's face seemed to fall, ears pinned back as it seemed he took it as some sort of rejection.

Turning away and running a hand through her hair, cheeks and ears aflame, she gulped and turned back to offer him a very meek, "A-alright…"

The boy's tail went wild, thumping on the bed and relieving a bit of the tension within her with his display. There was a happy whine from him as he shuffled carefully over, allowing Scarlett the space she would need to climb into bed.

About to start her nightly ritual for changing for bed, she stopped short and realized Fen would see her undressing, with his inquisitive eyes not leaving her form. The blush returned full force, realizing he was half dressed, she was fully dressed and unable to sleep in her current garb, as well as completely at a loss with how to approach her situation, being that she had never been in such a predicament before.

"I'll… uh… be right back. I promise," she told him, grabbing her sleepwear and exiting the room in haste.

Nearly falling over multiple times, with her fear being that the wolf boy would follow her, Scarlett stripped down and quickly tried to throw on her loose sleepwear. Panting heavily from both nerves and trying to so fastidiously dress herself, she got everything on in record time.

"Are you ok?" came his concerned question from inside her bedroom.

The girl tripped and fell against the wall, barely having gotten her top on when she heard him.

"Y-yeah! I'm fine," she called out, entering the room once more.

Dressed in loose, wool pants and a blouse, Scarlett tentatively crawled into her own bed, careful of Fen's curious eyes and doing her best to avoid his energetic tail.

"Are you used to sharing a bed… er… den?" the woman asked, slipping under the covers and trying to keep some space between him and her. He nodded, curling up once more and scooching closer to her.

"It is common for us to share heat," he explained. "Why are you so nervous about it though?"

"I… uh… It's complicated. We… other people I mean… have different ideals on this sort of thing," she tried to reason, finding that his innocent and animal way of thinking seemed to make so much more sense now than her cultural misgivings. "Just… do what feels natural I guess. I want you to be comfortable while you heal."

"Alright."

Snuggling in close, Fen rolled over on his side, nestling his back against her chest and legs, his head under her lazing arm. One of his ears flicked and twitched randomly, with it moving less often as the wolf boy's breathing slowed, his chest rising and falling slowly.

She, on the other hand, was a broiling mess of conflicting thoughts and emotions on the inside.

As an only child, she had never really shared a bed with anyone. A boy of similar age to her, and in such close quarters as they were 'enjoying', was something completely foreign to her in any aspect.

With a trembling hand, she raised the arm that laid across Fen, resting her palm upon his head. He tilted his head upward into it, her fingers digging in to scratch his scalp and feel the thick black hair within her digits. His hair was so soft and fluffy, heat pouring off of him in droves from any point of contact with her body.

Scarlett wasn't sure if this was something she should be doing, but she couldn't stop herself. It was calming and Fen seemed to be enjoying it, with his tail thumping occasionally and a small whine emitting from him if she slowed or stopped. She couldn't tell if he was still awake, with him facing away from her, but his reactions seemed very natural.

It had to be minutes, but it felt like hours as she continued to soothe the wolf boy nestled up against her like a wounded animal. In a way, she had to admit he was, but he wasn't a feral creature or some beastly monster.

A draft washed over her, sending chills across her body and giving any exposed skin goosebumps. Proceeding to curl up, Scarlett hunkered down beneath the covers of her bed, shivering as she tried to warm up.

Reaching out with the hand she had used to stroke Fen's head, she lightly touched his exposed back, with the wolf boy appearing to have fully fallen asleep. There was an overwhelmingly powerful warmth coming off of him and heating her fingertips. Biting her lower lip, the girl shimmied closer to him, lifting one side of the covers over her to throw them over him.

With chilled hands, she tentatively touched his back, trying not to disturb Fen as she overcame her embarrassment in favor of a source of warmth. Eventually, Scarlett was able to press herself completely against his back and legs, his body heat bleeding well into her as she released a ragged sigh of relief.

The woman's face was barely an inch away from the back of his neck, her breath washing over his skin as she couldn't calm herself well enough to sleep peacefully. Breathing slow and deep through her nose, the girl was greeted with his scent.

Given his supposed vagrant nature, being homeless in the woods, she was half expecting him to stink. To her surprise, she smelled something earthy and almost wood like about him. It began to calm her, Scarlett's mind finally settling down, with all her waning focus now confined to Fen's comforting scent. It was like a fresh autumn breeze or that smell when she helped her Gran garden behind her forest cabin.

A few fleeting images, like faded memories, presented themselves to her increasingly hazy mind, sleep drawing her ever further. She saw herself and a small boy playing in the garden, both getting very muddy and dirty, being chastised by someone else with a smile on their face.

Before she could ascertain whether these images were memory or fantasy, she was finally lulled to sleep, nestling as close as she could get against the wolf boy's back.

0000000

Chirping birds and errant beams of sunlight stirred Scarlett from her slumber, eyes foggy and hair a mess.

An out of focus dark shape began to coalesce in front of her, causing the girl to scoot closer for a moment to see what it was.

She was met with a mass of black hair, thick and fluffy to the touch as she reached out to grasp at it. A smile broke out on Scarlett's face as she ran her fingers through it. Fen had quite the soft and fluffy hair. It was almost like an animal with a plush coat of fur…

Like fur…

With her vision clearing and mind finally waking up enough to process more than the haze of before. The young woman let her eyes wander and pupils focus.

She wasn't ruffling her fingers through Fen's head. The girl wasn't sure in the slightest what part she was playing with, though that wasn't the most pertinent question.

What was this large mass of black fur lying next to her?

Another stroke of her hand was met with the large mass heaving with a… deep breath? A whine followed shortly, sounding like one of the neighborhood dogs.

The confusion was dispersing from her, with an anxious fear setting in, especially exasperated by the fact that the large mass was turning, with a pair of perky ears and a large, aggressive looking snout turning towards her.

Amber eyes, brilliant and piercing, honed in on her, a long tongue snaking out from the muzzle to wet their nose.

It was a ginormous wolf, rivaling in size to a small bear and taking up most of her bed.

Scarlett scrambled into a sitting position and pushed away, pinning herself to the wall behind her.

"F-Fen?" she called out so low, it was barely a husky whisper. "Is that you?"

The giant wolf cocked his head, seeming to respond to the name, giving her demeanor a once over and splaying his body out to stretch and yawn, large maw and ferocious fangs in full view.

Scarlett was letting the fear get to her, short and rapid breaths causing her greater distress. Part of her said 'This is Fen. It's fine.' with another part screaming 'We don't know. There is a giant wolf in your bed.'

While her heart seemed to know this was Fen, her mind was flashing images of one instance in her muddled childhood memories that seemed to drown out most others.

A wolf, supposedly aggressive and hungry… latched onto her arm and drawing blood. She couldn't quite remember the age she was, but the event was enough to make her randomly anxious around any animals that bared their fangs.

Her hand reflexively grabbed at her left arm, the scars from so many years ago tingling with a phantom pain of the memory itself.

The giant wolf finally took some real notice of her demeanor, crouching low and shuffling forward on the bed to approach her cautiously.

Scarlett raised her left arm in a defensive posture, using the other hand to clasp over her mouth and avoid letting him hear her strangled breaths.

The sleeve pulled back to reveal a set of scars, making Fen pull back in shock and ears perk up. Seeing her state, he approached once more, giving the arm a look, along with tentative sniffs.

With a whine, the giant black wolf darted off the bed with a grace unbefitting his size and exited the bedchambers.

The young woman crossed her arms and got control of her breathing, feeling quite guilty over her reaction to the young man. A small scuffle could be heard, making Scarlett peek over her arms from the bed and watch a more humanesque Fen open the door again with a long creak of the hinges.

"I'm sorry…" he barely murmured, entering the room with a rather ashamed look. "I forgot… about that."

Any lingering fear and anxiety was quelled by her own guilt as she spoke defensively, "It's not your fault! It's not you. I just… got surprised."

"You've been harmed before… by a wolf," Fen stated, his tone denoting it wasn't a question.

Sliding down the sleeve again, Scarlett revealed the age old injury once more, nodding.

"I don't remember much but I was a child playing… in my grandmother's garden…," she began, eyes looking down and to the side in her contemplative state to pull upon faded memories. "I was playing with a boy, I think, and a wolf came and attacked me. He locked onto my arm and wouldn't let go… but… I don't remember much of what happened after. I never saw that boy again, so I assume he was killed by that same wolf."

Looking up, she noticed that Fen had a stunned expression, eyes laden with fear and guilt.

"I'm sorry," came his soft tone again.

"Don't be," she chastised gently. "It wasn't your fault, right?" The last part was a teasing attempt at diffusing the tension.

Instead, the dark haired boy's shoulders stiffened and locked up, eyes unable to meet hers.

"That was a joke," the brunette finally told him, trying to clear up the mention more directly.

Fen visibly relaxed, still unable to meet her gaze.

"I just mean I'm sorry it happened," he clarified. "I'll try to keep from being in that form from now on. I usually do that when I'm going to sleep, since I'm usually in a den with other wolves."

"No no no!... it's fine," Scarlett stammered in response. "I was just surprised. That's all. I promise."

She smiled for him, being met with a soft one of his own. It struck her as more of a bittersweet smile though, coaxing her to bite her lip in frustration that things became what they were.

"How about breakfast?" she asked, clapping her hands together.

Fen perked up once again, the promise of sustenance deflecting well from his downtrodden spirit. As if to line that thought, his stomach growled in a most aggressive manner, drawing a giggle from Scarlett and a pouting blush from the wolf boy.

"Let me go into town and grab a few fresh supplies," the woman offered, then looking down at her attire and adding, "allowing me time to get dressed first."

He nodded innocently, ears pert and perky now.

They stared at one another for a moment before…

"...I would like to get dressed…" she used her hands, palms up, to goad Fen into leaving.

He simply nodded, not quite getting the gesture.

Scarlett facepalmed, getting up and letting her feet touch the cold floor, walking on the balls of her feet to avoid suffering the cold much. Her hips swayed with each delicate step, stopping in front of the wolf boy, who looked confused.

Deciding to play it blunt, the short girl placed a hand on his chest, drawing circles with her fingers as she spoke, "What I mean by that is…" Scarlett stretched up on the tips of her toes, pressing her chest into his and stroking a lock of hair away from his ear to whisper further, "I plan to undress… with all laid bare… and slowly but surely clothe myself to go out. I would prefer to retain some modesty… but if you want to stay and watch…"

"R-right," Fen muttered, a most pervasive blush threatening to burn his cheeks. He began to shimmy beneath her touch, moving towards the door and practically bolting out the door when Scarlett stepped away from him to allow him freedom to move.

She smiled gently at him, a light chuckle leaving her lips as he stumbled away and closed the door.

_Well… that was fun, _the girl mused to herself, finally allowing her own cheeks to flush from wondering what might have happened if he stayed. _He's way too innocent._

0000000

Minutes later and she emerged from the bedroom, clothed and toting a small basket. A quick touch of the window told her that there was a settling chill outside.

To counter that, she threw on her red cloak, a sight a few had gotten used to seeing as of late.

Fen was sitting in the hallway outside her door. The fire in the hearth had long since died, though the smoldering embers still warmed the chamber well enough. He jumped up upon seeing her exit the room.

"You could have waited near the hearth," she offered as a matter of factly.

He shook his head in the negative, remarking, "I didn't want to be seen from the windows."

The hooded woman looked around, seeing the windows, of which the two out front were partially covered by simple curtains.

"It's not like people are nosy enough to go peeking in the windows to see a human like person with wolf ears and a tail," she chided him softly. "...however, I'll make you some clothes, if you wish it, to hide them around here?"

"You make clothes?" came Fen's surprised question.

"Mhmm," Scarlett hummed. "That's more or less my trade. I'm also apprenticing in alchemy."

She then gestured to her cloak and attire, voicing, "See all this? Most of it is my own making. Oh… except the shoes. I'm not a good cobbler."

"That explains the herbal poultice," he remarked.

"Oh!" the red hooded brunette exclaimed. "That reminds me…"

She closed in quickly, lifting up Fen's bandages and taking a peek at his leg. He lost his sense of balance and leaned his back to the wall, the inquisitive touch of her fingers sending tingles up his spine.

"Wow!" came a pleased tone from the girl. "You do heal fast. Any normal person would have turned ghostly white and probably succumbed to illness and blood loss by now."

Her hands brushed over the faded scars, looking as old as her own instead of something that happened the night before. The wolf boy sucked in a breath at her touch, finally snapping her from her inspection with a minor blush.

"I'll be out for maybe an hour," Scarlett explained, going to the windows and sealing the curtains more effectively. "Most of what I'll need is at the market nearby, so it should be an easy trip."

"Alright," Fen replied politely. "I'll be waiting."

Closing the door behind her, Scarlett actually felt a bit excited to do a supply run. Usually, it felt like a waste of time, given that it distracted from her work or hobbies, not to mention her free time.

0000000

The market felt quite lacking in traffic today, probably due to the storm clouds on the horizon, making most of the city stay safe indoors. That meant some of the merchants with more 'delicate' goods might be packing up early.

"Jerome!" she called, waving to a burly baker across the way. He appeared to be looking at the sky nervously, his bread and other baked goods being the most problematic thing to have out in the market during a potential rain storm.

"Ah! My dear Letty!" the large, dark man answered with a bright smile, wiping his hands on his apron before reaching out to hug the much smaller girl. "Come to take a burden off of me before the rain ruins it?"

"Only what I need," the hooded girl told him, breaking from the hug and giving him a pointed glance. Friendly the large man might be, but he didn't skip any chances to sell his product.

With a smile almost as large as the man and skin as dark as the chocolate he sometimes drizzled over pastries, Jerome was one the friendliest people to Scarlett, always sweet as pie.

"Of course. Of course," he defended, gesturing to his stock on the market shelves.

"I am however, in need of more than normal, so… lucky day for you," she offered him, grabbing a generous selection of the baker's product. Grabbing breads both soft and crackly, the hooded woman paid her way with a few coins and shoved the items in her basket, looking around for other merchants she needed to visit.

"Psst, Letty?" Jerome called to her with a smirk. "Do you remember that hunter who was dragged back to town drunk and raving last week?"

That piqued her interest, though she was skeptical, with the baker being an almost overly incorrigible gossip.

"I remember something being mentioned," she replied, truly curious if this was the man who tried to attack her some time before.

"He and his band of fools have been playing out that whole 'Beast man' story all morning and some of last night," the large baker told her in detail. "Been griping about being unable to catch it. Despite the lack of evidence to support his story though, aside from his lackey's being yes men to all he says, he's been causing a bit of a fear filled ruckus about it. Wants to get a whole party of hunters to track this beast down."

Though the news did mean very much to her, she did have to play her usual sass towards the subject.

"Oh yay…" Scarlett sarcastically drawled, rolling her eyes. "Big muscle heads going on a drunken rampage through the forest to assault poor woodland creatures in a stupor. Should I be swooning over their deplorable aim and nausea inducing belches?"

She put the back of her hand to her forehead, playing up the drama. The baker let out a hearty chuckle.

"Such fire and sass," he bellowed between laughs. "Your spirit alone could keep my oven aflame. You'll give whatever man that captures your heart a few burns."

"As if any man could handle me," the hooded girl fired back, waving goodbye and resuming her trip.

Thunder sounded in the distance, making a few merchants scowl at the sky, silently cursing the weather as if nature itself was trying to be a thief of their respective coin purses.

With the sour mood settling in, Scarlett could only quickly grab her needs and pay, moving on with as bright a smile she could muster, so as not to hold up the merchants from feeling restrained if they chose to pack it in before the rain fell.

Sure enough, as she got the eggs from the local farmer, the sky darkened considerably and small drops began to impact the cobblestone streets. Larger drops quickly followed, though the downpour she could see in the distance hadn't reached the town yet.

The red hooded woman stuffed her full basket underneath the cloak, pulling her hood further forward to deflect the cold rain.

She felt quite proud of her creation, seeing the red cloak easily let rain roll off of it like water off a duck's feathers. It was definitely worth the extra effort to oil the cloak for the rain.

However, Scarlett wasn't sure she wanted to test it's limits in the coming rain storm, with the wind picking up and drops becoming far more frequent. Stepping up her pace, she found her way back to her home, giving the door a gentle knock to not surprise Fen too much.

"It's me," she cooed. "I'm back."

The young woman pushed open the door, latching it behind her.

Silence.

Her face fell as she looked around and didn't see the young animalistic wolf boy. Her place wasn't that large, making the only two places he could be being the lavatory or her bedroom.

Choosing to try the bedroom first, she deposited her basket on the table, lowering her hood to run her fingers through her hair.

The bedroom door was open, the fire stoked back to life on the hearth, making her hopeful he stuck around.

Sure enough, the dark haired boy was curled up on her bed, cuddled up with her pillow and sleeping once more, giving occasional sniffs of her pillow.

"Oh geez…. There is a limit to how cute you can be," Scarlett mumbled to herself, pouting at how unfair it was, a hand on her cheek.

Seeing him not stir from his renewed slumber, the girl leaned in close, running her fingers through his hair once more.

"Fluffy…" she giggled.

Fen finally stirred, making her back off and turn away with a small smile.

She spent the next half hour letting the wolf boy rest, making her simple breakfast. Most meals might take hours of real prep but with eggs, ready made bread, and a few other fresh ingredients, all she needed was a fire and a few minutes.

With a cast iron skillet over the fire, she cooked the eggs, beaten and mixed with fresh milk and butter. The brunette hadn't much inclination as to his preference when eating eggs, so she went with scrambled, as most seemed to like them.

In a small pot next to them in a pot, Scarlett cooked oatmeal, throwing in some crushed pecans and chopped apples. It was a favorite and relatively simple dish her grandmother taught her.

Having used all her ingredients wisely, with nothing to spare and be left to spoil, the young woman gathered the hot meal and added in some of the fresh bread she bought as well, making her way with a large tray to her room.

Giving the door, now closed, a hip bump, the girl entered the room casually.

While she had tended to him the night previous, and also slept next to him during the same night, the light of day had a way of bringing a new intrigue to the predicament of having a taller and very lean male half naked in her room and dressing.

Fen was changing out his wraps, checking the areas he was previously wounded and tenderly touching the aforementioned spots.

Turning his head to see Scarlett entering, no doubt having heard and smelled her coming, he eyed the food eagerly and rushed to redress himself, utterly oblivious of the heated blush that painted over her stilled face.

Steps as light as a feather, the wolf boy padded towards her, picking the bread from the tray and ripping off a piece between his fangs.

It took a brief moment for her mind to work again, turning to set the food down on a small table.

Fen's arms roped around from behind and pulled her in, his voice but a wispy breath in her ear as he spoke, "Thank you… for everything, Scarlett."

She was extraordinarily thankful that he couldn't see her face in that moment. The young woman surmised she could have run a forge with the heat pouring from her face.

While never really so inept around men, with plenty being quite fond of her in ways that were usually annoying, it felt increasingly frustrating to her that the one male who had no such impure inclinations towards her was the one causing the most impure thoughts to surface within her own mind.

Using what little mental power she could muster in the moment, Scarlett tried to think of anything that could distract from this feeling.

Her lips parted to speak, having remembered what Jerome told her, "I heard something worrying in town… about that hunter." Not unexpected to herself, but he stiffened slightly, his arms gripping her a little tighter.

"I see…," he sighed. "What about him?"

"He's apparently trying to rally a whole party to hunt you down… in the forest," came her struggled reply. "I think… you should stay here, at least for a little while."

"He won't quit," Fen rebuked her a bit gruffly, separating from her and sitting at the table, smelling the food with a curious nose.

"Maybe," Scarlett relented, "but his friends or followers won't stick to him forever. They have lives to live as well. So, just for a short while, please stay here. Just long enough for them to believe they won't find you."

"I can take care of myself," the wolf boy remarked plainly, using the spoon to taste the oatmeal, humming with satisfaction. "This is delicious."

"Thank you," the woman replied to him, quickly returning to the topic at hand, "and I know you can take care of yourself, but you got hurt after facing them before, bear or not. If they get more people, you'll find it hard to avoid or take them on."

"Are you asking me… or is this something else I have to do because you said so?" came his genuine inquiry. The words, from anyone else's mouth, might have suggested a venomous sarcasm to them, but his eyes and tone were more curious than offended.

Her own mossy green eyes wilted and averted to the side, deep in thought for a few seconds as she tried to choose her next words carefully. Telling him what to do wouldn't work out well, since he was used to being independent. It could cause him to feel like she was another human telling him what he should be or do.

Scarlett sighed heavily, eyes becoming a bit glazed over as she worried for him.

"This is your decision. I can't force you but you're my friend. I just want to protect you as best that I can. Please think about it. I'm here for you and I promise to do whatever I can."

The girl's eyes wandered back towards Fen's blue/amber eyes, hoping he would see that she only means well for him.

It was a relief to her, seeing his shoulders relax and lips curl in a gentle smile, the wolf boy nodding slightly.

"I'll stick around," Fen softly agreed. "Thank you for calling me a friend."

Giving his shoulder a small and playful slap, Scarlett sassed, "What else would I call you?"

* * *

**Another chapter released! **

**I feel accomplished. Wait til tomorrow though... then I'll feel lazy and quite the opposite. XD **

**For now though, let's answer the beginning of reviews for what I hope to earn a sturdy following of true fans. **

**REVIEWS: **

**Neakco: Thank you so much for your positive input! and yes... believe me. before doing fanfiction, i've tried getting an original work published. Unfortunately, my stuff was "not relatable" as I was told. haha. I have great grammar and methodical processes for approaching plot... but not relatable. XD Publishers are too enamored with simple plot lines and easy money from young adults. **

**Starr: Thank you! **

**queertostay: Love the name. Lol. and I agree to an extent. I won't deny the validity of your claim. I was originally intending to only showcase one chapter and keep the rest exclusive. clearly that didn't happen, lol, but I meant the chapter to show off my style and elements of the story that would come and such. the story slows a bit from here on. **

**As for your questions, I do have answers written to a few of them in future chapters actually. You asked some of the right ones. **

**Thank you for your input. **

**DONE!**

**Now excuse me while I go wield a gimble for the dimble and timble the fimble. **

**Did that make sense? who cares?! I never do... mwahahahaha *cough cough* hahahaha!**

**It's been a pleasure, Sweethearts. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Welp... a little later than I wanted to launch this but here it is! **

**Numero Tres. **

**I'm loving making this enjoy sharing it as I am. Trying to keep it exclusive seems too... bleh. I figure I'll let the story do the talking and let those who truly wish to support me, do so as they will. (A simple reminder for any that feel it matters, I have an atreon with a "P" under the same name)**

**Just as well, I'm glad others are enjoying this tale. It was a bit quick at first, slowing down and light, but soon it'll get a bit detailed and I hope you will all enjoy that. XD **

**Read, fav, follow, review, and enjoy! My strange snack today is not that strange... it's birthday cake!... filled with raspberry filling and I put peanut butter on. Now it's a peanut butter and jelly cake. MMMM. Shut up! I love peanut butter! **

* * *

Though not exactly a plan in and of itself, the sentiment she intended was still going her route, with the hunter, now knowing his name to be Glenn Hargrave, coming back after each 'hunt' with less and less supporters.

Each setting sun came with his return and a dwindling party of 'beast hunters', making the man look more and more like a raving lunatic with a persistent delusion brought forth by a drunken stroll in the pale moonlight.

With it being almost a week since she asked Fen to stay with her, Glenn's troupe now only consisted of his usual lackeys, about four or five of them, along with a couple of straggler believers in his cause.

Suffice it to say that the town had to take some notice. With many of them pursuing this farcical venture, the community was missing some elements to its trade and economy. The hunters weren't providing meats and skins, as well as not clearing the area of dangerous animals that kept tradesmen from gathering materials or transporting goods.

That detraction from the community definitely brought forth the ire of the people in town. Hunters and others that accompanied Glenn had to cave to greater needs, the initial fear of a 'monster' having been trumped by both lack of evidence and a dwindling ability to waste time to follow the obsessed man.

Scarlett did her best to avoid him, knowing he was sufficiently drunk to likely not even remember her from before, but not wanting to take the chance he senses something familiar and gives her attention she truly couldn't afford.

There was enough of that from a few merchants who noticed she was buying more than the normal portions of produce for her meals. She was able to lie and say that her visits to her grandmother were more frequent, thankful that the mindset of most of them was not to intrude and keep to themselves, but she knew it was a stopgap.

Her new home life was both comforting and a bit unsatisfactory.

Fen gave into her heartfelt request, but that meant he was suffering a bit of cabin fever. With a tail and ears, the young woman could only do much to hide them. The ears were easy enough, but his tail betrayed many emotions he would be subject to, hardly able to remain still beneath a coat or pants.

That meant both of them were reluctant to explore anything outside.

It was definitely a small surprise to her to hear from him that his current humanesque form was as far human as he could go. No matter what, the ears and tail remained.

Loyal to his word, even though the circumstances weren't what he imagined, Fen remained at her home, staying out of sight and keeping a low profile.

His safety and complacency towards her selfish desire to keep him safe made her nerves settle, though guilt inevitably settled in at his confinement.

The hooded girl could most certainly see he was not a homebody type of person. Remaining as he did in her small abode was probably almost as problematic for his mental state as it would be for hers if he got hurt because she didn't protect him.

It was a quagmire of emotional distress for all, but he willingly suffered the isolation for her.

That matter made her feel all the more guilt after the first night of having slept next to one another. Scarlett did it because he was hurt and that stare… oh goodness that stare was so innocent and pleading for love.

After that though, the young brunette couldn't bring herself to share the bed, as much as she wished she could. Years of being brought up under tradition that it was not acceptable made her feel this sense of shame she couldn't shake yet. It was an insecurity she knew she had to overcome but for now… Fen accepted it. He slept on her bed and she on the chair next to her hearth.

Staring into the fire on this latest night, Scarlett didn't even hear Fen approach her, his steps silent and certainly a testament to his wolf side.

Her heart skipped a beat in shock, but she kept her expression as still as she could, getting used to being surprised by him.

"Any more news today?" he asked simply, offering her a gentle smile, the wolf boy's eyes looking glazed over and tired. His isolation was affecting his sleep as well, much the same as her impromptu sleeping arrangements affected her.

"Still about six or seven following that moron," the girl vented, picking up a piece of bread from a plate next to her on the end table. She held it out to her animalistic companion, allowing him to take it and satiate his hunger.

"Whatcha think then?" Fen spoke, his maw half full of bread.

"I guess… it's okay to go," Scarlett reluctantly admitted. She couldn't do this to him any longer and she couldn't take having him around like this. The hooded girl was becoming much too aware of him, friend or no, with every glance at him or locking gaze making her cheeks flush and chest tighten.

"Forgive me… but thank goodness," he remarked, with her knowing full well how he meant that.

"You are forgiven," Scarlett giggled softly, watching his expression brighten at the news. "If you want to go outside and stretch your legs, go for it. I'm probably going to go check on my grandmother anyways."

Fen seemed to perk in attention to that mention, remarking, "This late at night? Are you sure?"

The woman eyed him skeptically, brow arched in mild admonishment that he would ask such a thing.

"Hey," he continued, unfazed, "If you can be worried about me, I can be as well for you."

Her face fell in realization of that truth. She couldn't be a hypocrite about this by making him feel bad for asking.

"I… fine… I'll go at first light," Scarlett gave in, knowing he was right.

"Woah… hey," he fired back. "I just meant I could escort you. Is that ok?"

"Oh… I… yes," she muttered in response, mind still tired from a lack of sleep. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head in rebuke of her apology, remarking, "Don't be. I understand."

They made ready, with Fen donning a stiff bowler hat to hide his ears and breeches that could hide his tail with a harness. It would be uncomfortable, but not painful at least. Since his normal attire would draw some ireful glances from condescending townsfolk, believing him to be a homeless vagrant with his wrappings, Scarlett gave him a blouse and waistcoat to wear. She had no trench coats in his size unfortunately, the lady making a mental note to fashion him one in time.

They didn't take the usual route that the young woman generally would, since any chance that the wolf boy could be discovered would multiply exponentially on a beaten path with more onlookers.

Sure, the off path walk they made would be considered an oddity in and of itself if spotted, but Scarlett thought of that fact and brought a basket, as if ready to gather alchemical ingredients. If anyone asked, she was looking for items that only bloomed or surfaced at night, and that her companion was a temporary assistant to the search.

Guided by a waxing moon, dew on the trees and loamy soil glimmered in its soft glow. Fen appeared distracted by its luminance, his blue/amber eyes making flitting glances at the moon.

Scarlett smiled gently. He was part wolf after all. They were known to have a romanticized fascinating with the moon.

She looked down, seeing his gait and posture. She forgot to address his footwear situation, seeing him pad his way through the forest with lackluster shoes. What drew her interest most though, was the way he walked. It wasn't exactly graceful or elegant, but it was definitely with a refined balance to it. The brunette noticed he never let his heels touch down more than a slight brush on the ground, putting most of his weight on the balls of his feet.

"Are your shoes okay?" Scarlett dared to ask. "You seem to be walking… odd."

"Hmm…?" he hesitated, looking down. "I'm fine. Wait… what's odd about my walk?"

"It's just… you seem to favor walking on your toes mostly," the young hooded woman defended mildly. "Are your heels hurting?"

"What? N-no…" Fen answered her, now looking down at himself with a curious and self-conscious gaze.

She suddenly had a moment of clarity and instantly felt a bit of guilt for putting a new insecurity on his shoulders. He was walking like a wolf, haunches raised and the pads of his 'paws' touching the ground.

"Fen," she called out towards the wolf boy, whom perked up at her mention. "Ignore me. I was just worried about your shoes. Do you need a new pair?"

The dark haired man turned away, a hand scratching at the back of his neck in mild shame.

"Nah… Shoes are a bit of wasted effort on me in case I… turn…"

"But surely those ones are too thin?" Scarlett further inquired.

"Actually," Fen replied with a brighter tone than before, "I rather like the thinner soles. I understand they protect my feet, but I prefer to _feel _the earth beneath my feet. Big, heavy boots just make me feel blind."

The hooded girl looked on in fascination as he explained this, somehow understanding at least the intention he had with his words, even if it made little sense logically.

"Uh… sorry," he quickly backtracked. "That probably sounds like nonsense."

"N-no!" she rebuked him with a mild stutter. "It's n-not that. I don't exactly get it… but I think part of me understands what you meant. It's hard to explain."

Scarlett got it well enough to understand at least one small anchor towards his thinking. Humans may be intelligent and civilized, by standard of cultural achievement and technology… but they blinded themselves with such things as coin and cloth. Why do what you should know inherently when you can pay someone else to do it. Hunting, crafting, and building. They bound themselves in armor to fight, though became dulled to the changes of the world around them. They isolated themselves in towns and homes of stone and dead wood.

Fen wasn't like that. He had a connection and an evolved sense that couldn't be put into human words to the Earth itself. The animals could hear better than humans, track better by scent or sight, and knew the land that sifted beneath their paws.

They reached the creek soon enough, with the water babbling in a natural and very calming sound.

The wolf boy reached down to cup his hands and take in a long draught of the cold liquid, letting out a sigh upon finishing.

"Need a lift over it?" he asked her innocently, ready with both arms to wrap around her shoulders and hips.

Though not deep, it was somewhat wide, being about twenty feet across on average. With all the slick rocks and the chill of Autumn settling in, she could see it being necessary to leap over it. She wished they took the bridge, but their path was not the norm, meaning it was downstream by a few tenths of a mile at least.

"You saying I can't handle myself," she caught herself saying with mild sass.

"Just wanting to make things easier," he evenly supplied, a gentle smile on his face. "May I?"

Though she wanted to play the 'I'm a tough girl' card, she knew he wouldn't think less of her for accepting the offer, with Scarlett sighing to herself and leaning into his embrace.

In a flash, the young lady was cradled in his arms and making a gravity defying jump across the water, with a shimmering reflection of the waxing moon greeting the girl's gaze downward for a fleeting moment.

Fen landed with a mild scuffing noise on the other side, the impact of his landing straining her much less than she would have thought. He had a soft step that even meant he touched down gentle, too.

Resuming their leisurely stroll to Scarlett's grandmother's home, the two remained rather silent for the rest of the trip. It wasn't uncomfortable, with both enjoying the view. The moonlight helped her vision, though she imagined the wolf boy was somehow easily capable of seeing as if it were broad daylight.

It wasn't much longer before they reached the humble abode, with the windows glowing from flickering fire light. Smoke wisped from the chimney, with the small woman knowing her grandmother was likely making dinner for the evening, before settling in for the night.

Stepping up to the large door, Scarlett knocked softly, not wanting to spook the older woman.

"I told you musket toting drunks that I haven't see your stupid 'beast'!" came an unexpected, and rather irate sounding, shout from inside. To the young woman, her grandmother's tone in that moment made her seem as imposing as if she were several feet taller than her.

"Uh… Gram?" she ventured to call out.

The tone instantly dissipated, with the shuffling of feet coming closer to the door, whereupon the door swung open with a loud creak of the hinges.

"My dear granddaughter…" the old woman began, doing a double take of the taller gentleman standing next to the hooded girl. "...and… her friend…"

Scarlett noticed the way she pursed her lips and settled a squinted gaze at the wolf boy, though she wrote it off as sizing him up.

He waved rather awkwardly, as if having been caught doing something bad, by the state of his nervous expression.

"I wasn't expecting… company…" the elder mentioned slowly, eyeing Fen the whole time, gaze boring into him like a hot knife.

"Alright! Enough!" the poor boy finally relented, surprising the young woman, causing her to jump back slightly as her grandmother seemed to grin in triumph. "I'm sorry. Ok?"

"Wait…" Scarlett started, eyes flitting back and forth in utter confusion. "What's going on? You know each other?"

Fen looked anxious and stuck between words, opening his mouth in a useless gesture to speak, the old woman showing off a snide smile at his misery.

He tugged the brim of his hat, nodding while saying, "She's the 'kind woman' I mentioned."

"Oh…" the red hooded girl sighed in understanding.

"_Kind _woman?" her grandmother remarked in question, raising an eyebrow. "Such accusations. Don't tell too many people. They might think I have a heart."

Choosing to ignore the self jibes and sass for a brief moment, Scarlett spoke out, "So Gram is the one who taught you?"

"For the most part… I was…" the wolf boy started, before a loud _Thwack _sounded from his skull, hat taken off and a wooden spoon having filled the void for a split second.

"He was a student of sorts," Gram began, "until he suddenly stopped visiting a couple years ago. You idiot."

"...I know," Fen agreed easily, ears dipping low, as well as his tone and head.

"Let me guess… it was some bull about being a burden on me after I was getting a frequent visitor again?" the elder asked, her tone almost denoting she didn't expect an answer to the contrary.

The young woman didn't miss the flitting gaze from the black haired man to herself, then back to her grandmother, his expression mildly guilt ridden.

"Something like tha…"

He didn't even get to finish confessing his agreement before the old lady hit him over the head once more. Rubbing his head, he smiled slightly. Chastised he may have been, but he still felt loved.

"You think too lowly of yourself, you obstinate and stubborn…" the old woman began to gripe, pausing when she looked up at his hat. "Anyways, I recently had some food made over the fire. I wasn't expecting company but I'm sure there's enough to share. Come in and don't dawdle."

As Scarlett crossed the threshold, pulling back her hood, she heard the faint whisper of her grandmother speaking to Fen, voicing, "It's good to see you're alright."

She felt a bit left out of the loop, wondering what history transpired between them. It was good that Gram taught him as well as she did, though an aching tingle in her mind told her they were purposefully leaving something out. Not just in general… but specifically from her. Both of their flickering gazes to her told her as much.

Choosing to let it go for now, figuring there had to be a reason and neither would willingly try to cause her strife, the brunette settled in next to the pot, recently taken from the lingering coals of the fire. She dipped the ladle back in, pressing it to her lips after taking a sample out. It was still warm… and delicious.

The other two joined her swiftly, not dawdling more than necessary. The next several minutes were followed by conversational small talk. The wolf boy remained apart from most of it, uninterested or ignorant of most of what was said. They talked of the townsfolk, relatives and friends that the elder woman was hoping to hear about, the progression of her life, and finally…

"Yeah…" the grandmother confirmed, taking a sip of some ale she had pulled from the cupboards, "these bastards have been lumbering around my cabin like they own it. Keep on pestering me about seeing a beast."

"Thank you…" Fen murmured to her, ears pinned down underneath his hat.

"What are you thanking me for?" she groaned, reaching to pull off his hat, surprising the young woman. It took her a moment to realize it shouldn't be that unexpected that she knew. "I merely told them the truth. There are no 'beasts' around here. You may not be… human, but I see that as a plus, if those oafs are any indication of the rest of the species. If anything, those ones are the beasts for what they are doing."

"O-oh…" the black haired male sighed with an awkward smile, letting a small chuckle come forth.

"And another thing!" Gram yelled. "They think that an old woman has the sight, especially at night, to pick out whether I see a beast of one of their hairy arses? Bah!"

Scarlett raised an eyebrow at that, chastising her grandmother by saying, "Aren't you the one always saying your hearing might be dulled, but your sight is as keen as ever?"

The elder female smirked devilishly, remarking, "Of course, my dear, but I'm not letting them know that."

Casting a more serious glance towards the young wolf boy, the girl's grandmother got up and further spoke, "Mind if me and this young boy here take a moment outside to catch up?"

Not quite understanding why, Scarlett pursed her lips but nodded anyways, knowing her Gram wasn't likely to take well to her intruding on whatever this was.

Following her shuffling pace outside, Fen replaced his hat and made to hold the door open for her, casting gentle smile back to the green eyed girl.

Sitting still, Scarlett looked around, tapping her feet impatiently. From the shadows outside the small window, they had moved a fair distance away to talk. Little wisps of sound were all that reached her ears.

With a huff, and her mind sparking with an idea, the cloaked woman set off towards her grandmother's room, opening the door carefully, so as not to creak the hinges. There on her night stand, was a small conical device she used for her dulled hearing. It wasn't the most accurate or helpful device, but it came in handy when nothing else could be done.

Finding her way to the window closest to where the duo were chatting in hushed voices, the brunette held the hearing device close and cracked open the window, a small whisper of wind slipping through.

"...doesn't know who you are?" came the soft tone of her Gram.

"I don't think so," Fen replied, forlorn, yet relieved. "I think she remembers something… but it's not right."

Were they talking about her? Or was this another person she wasn't privy to knowing. In her mind though, she shouldn't know Fen, so maybe it was someone else. She didn't even know that the animal like wolf boy was friends with her grandmother. It stood to reason there was more she didn't know. It was only fair to assume that.

"I… I think it's better that way," the young man continued, barely sounding like he believed his own words. "I've gotten better, but I don't want to risk what we have by dredging up old fears."

The elder woman sighed, "You really got yourself in a mess, huh? I was really hoping that, by seeing you again, it meant you had resolved that mess. You were only a cub."

"But I hurt her…"

Hurt her? Who?

The questions were mounting up and the young girl wanted to believe these things were about her, but that thought process was mostly driven by the idea that she was the only female in his life. She would put herself in a figurative corner with that line of thinking. A corner that could very well be a point of embarrassment if she were wrong.

They had only technically known each other for a barely under a month, and he had many years before that to know other people.

"You made a mistake," soothed the barely heard voice of her grandmother. "You've since distanced yourself not because she fears you… but because you fear yourself."

"I know…" the defeated voice of Fen replied, sounding almost wearily broken.

"Which begs the question… how did you overcome that?"

"I didn't… she…" he began.

Leaning in closer, Scarlett bumped her head against the wall, dropping the cone.

"Damnit!" she cursed in a hushed whisper to herself.

0000000

"...she… found me," the wolf boy revealed. "I was being hunted and got shot. Hid under a bridge, where she found me and tended to me, despite knowing what I was."

"That explains the quiet visit," the old woman said with a smile. "She visited me and I surmise she ran into you and didn't know what to think. Asked me about the legends of werewolves around here."

"Just… don't tell her, please," Fen quietly pleaded. "I promise I will but I don't think she's over it."

"If you never let her face it, she'll never get over it," the old lady let out in a biting tone of blunt wisdom. "But I'll not be saying anything. At least, not if you can get your head out of your rear and talk to her about it eventually. I'm old… patience is something I can't afford so much anymore." At the last line, her tone became coy and a bit threatening, making the black haired wolf male gulp and smile nervously.

"I'll… try…"

"Good," Gram chirped with a thump of her fist to his chest. "I really would rather not avoid the topic or play mind games trying to word everything so I don't let anything slip."

"Sorry for the trouble…" Fen remarked, the two now making their way back to the cabin.

"It's not so much trouble as it is concern for you," explained the elder. "You two were quite the pair as kids… until your incident before your mother's death."

He wanted to reply to that, but bit his tongue. He knew well enough the circumstances that led him here, no matter the blame he put on himself.

His ears perked as he detected shuffling movement inside the cabin. It seemed rushed or sporadic, like someone was in a hurry.

Opening the door, both werewolf and elder human found the brunette calmly perched in front of the rekindled fire, warming the food in the pot.

Though she was turned away and still, he could hear the faint remains of her panted breaths, heartbeat hammering in her chest.

Maybe she was trying to eavesdrop and got startled when they came back?

0000000

Scarlett tried to quell the steady pounding of her heart, knowing that after her inability to listen in after her faux paw, she had to rush to put the borrowed item back and make it to the fire, in time for both parties to return. She dared not look their way immediately, since she was certain her face was flushed from the rushed actions.

"You alright dear?" her Gram asked gently.

"Hmm? Ah… yeah… just tired," the cloaked girl quickly supplied.

"You did come so late at night," the old woman mentioned, tone thoughtful and curious. "Why come out here so late?"

Feeling her nerves settling, as well as her breathing and heart rate, Scarlett replied more smoothly, "I've been helping him avoid that mess of hunters. He got hurt before and I was tending to him. Which is also why my visits were lacking. I wanted to check up on you before another night passed."

"Hmmm…. Given the late hour, you might as well spend the night, then," the old lady concluded. The wolf boy seemed to stiffen at that, not to be unnoticed by the elder. "Oh don't get your tail in a knot. You two wouldn't have come by here if you felt the threat was still present. Besides, I have a chamber beneath the floor for you to hide in, just in case they show up again. I'll draw the shutters and bar the door."

"I can do it," Fen rebuked her, getting up and splaying out his hands to wave her down. "You rest."

"Don't you start that coddling with me, boy, or I'll have half a mind to whack you with the spoon again."

"Uh… yes ma'am."

He then proceeded to close the shutters and lock them all in place, as if some sort of muscle memory of doing it had never left him. Back when he learned from her, they often stayed up late and to avoid passersby citizens from getting too nosy, it became a ritual to do so, as well as afford him the release his ears and tail from their entrapment. Even back then, he often had to wear restricting clothes to hide his… unique attributes.

Satisfied that they were all closed up, Fen removed his hat and unbuttoned this small slip in the back of his pants that allowed his tail to be free, courtesy of Scarlett's compassionate ingenuity. There was a sigh of relief and his tail began wagging, attempting to bleed off energy from being cooped up all day.

Entering the common area once more, Scarlett gave him a nervous glance, saying, "Is it safe?"

Her grandmother promptly gave her a swift smack to the back of head, to which she whined.

"Shut it. He's fine," she chastened her grandchild. He laughed mildly, much to the younger woman's ire and spiteful stare.

Sitting in front of her, on the floor and next to her legs, Scarlett had this urge to reach between his occasionally flicking ears to pet his head. She stopped herself, curling her fingers into a fist as she realized her hand was already outstretched.

Looking up, her Gram gave her a knowing smile, tilting her head to silently tell her to 'Go ahead'.

Feeling some sense of validation at having her grandmother goad her onwards, she reached out again, gently resting the palm of her hand on his head. Fen's ears perked instantly, swiveling back towards her. She then began combing her fingers through his extraordinarily fluffy hair.

The wolf boy began to melt, leaning to the side and pressing the side of his head into her thigh. He nuzzled her sweetly, ears relaxing and tail thumping lightly against the chair she sat in.

"It's like looking back in time…" the elder woman muttered, the cloaked woman having only heard a faint whisper of her words, mostly focused on the boy before her.

Fen smiled, hearing her words, but only deigning to nuzzle further into the soft skin of Scarlett's legs. The old lady was right… this did bring back memories.

The smell of food wafted into his nose, making him draw deep whiffs of it eagerly.

A tinge of something else slipped into the mix. It smelled slightly sweet, but with a sour undertone. He would have assumed it was alcohol, but the sour scent to it seemed more…

Fen's ears perked and eyes widened in a small panic, listening intently, the crackle of the fire covering a few sounds but he could clearly zone in on various directions, until he found what he intended to.

Footsteps… heavy and sturdy, probably from large clunky boots but it was the scent and the sound of his gait that made the wolf boy realize.

"It's him… he's here," he all but growled, standing and taking a defensive posture.

Both ladies in the room appeared confused, though Scarlett had a better inkling of what he was saying.

"Glenn?" she asked in assumption, gulping when the young man nodded solemnly.

"He's very near… coming up to the cabin, I think."

The elder woman grunted and groaned almost lazily, as she lifted herself to her feet and began to walk towards the door.

"Probably that idiot again," she griped in a mumbled tone, waving them to follow her. "You two go down that hall and hide in my room. Now. I doubt this guy will leave you be if he see's you."

"If only she knew," the brunette seethed under her breathe.

Fen didn't seem to want to move, a rumbling growl coming from between his teeth.

Taking his arm, she jolted him to focus on her, leading him to where her Gram directed them, finding the door and pushing the wolf boy in, following blindly. When the door shut, she was pressed flush against Fen, with little room to move, much less breathe. Every intake through her nose was met with a familiar scent. A musk that she had recently come to know.

Blushing profusely, Scarlett kept still, realizing she was now face first in the wolf boy's chest, the slight V of his shirt and vest giving way to a tuft of chest fur.

To her credit and her sanity, thankfully the door sounded with a very heavy set of dull thuds, the encroacher knocking rather roughly.

A few seconds passed and the knocking came back in even greater force.

"Oh, stop your rapping you bloody arse!" her Gram yelled out, the sound of her shuffling feet heading towards the door. "I'm old! It takes a minute to get to the door."

There was a grunt from a man who sounded big, followed by the creak of the big wooden door opening.

"I'm here to ask you again…" Glenn began almost politely, the murmurs of sound from other voices telling the young woman that there were others with him.

"Yeah yeah…" the old woman cut him off. "You're asking if I've seen that beastie thing of yours. AND I would like to remind you I'm old. My sight is about as good as my hearing. If I warned you about every hairy, growling, and grunting 'beast' that I thought I heard… I'd probably be telling you about every time you visited."

"Why you…" the burly man started again, only for Scarlett to giggle silently as her grandmother interrupted again.

"I mean seriously… Looking at you right now is about as effective as looking at your arse," Gram snapped at him. "For all I know… I am!"

The hooded girl would have felt worried about laughing, but now the wolf boy had joined her in that joy, as well as the remaining entourage that accompanied Glenn, who grumbled a bunch of low tone vulgarities.

"I would have half a mind to smack that mouth of yours shut," the man snarled, clomping steps telling her that Glenn closed whatever distance remained between them.

Scarlett rolled her eyes and scoffed mildly at the line. She knew better than anyone that the man was more bark than bite. A rising snarl from the wolf boy in the closet with her reminded her there was another with more bite than bark.

Pressed against him, she was finding it hard to ignore the fact that Fen was now changing in some way. His exposed skin began to turn to black fur with silver strands, shirt filled out with more defined muscle, hands turned to large paw like versions of themselves with curved claws extending. Looking up, the girl saw his fangs overlap his lips, long and piercing.

She gasped, patting him on the chest and trying to shush him. His stunning blue/amber eyes were focused, pupils constricted to predatory slits as he seemed to be looking through the wall and at the man who dare threaten the elder woman.

"Fen… Fen. Shhhh. Please. Look at me," the young girl pleaded, reaching up and gripping his furred cheeks. He stopped instantly, though retained a rather intensely angry expression.

He sniffed and huffed, chest heaving slightly, the werewolf's gaze resting on Scarlett's mossy green eyes, now showing off a vibrant energy in the dark closet. Her hands began to stroke and scratch his head, coaxing him to lean into it.

"Shhh…. Shhh… that's it… Please calm down," the cloaked woman cooed to him.

"Half a mind?" the elder repeated curiously. "Ha! Now that would be an improvement!" More murmured laughter from the small crowd. Her voice dropped low, as Scarlett struggled to listen to her grandmother whisper to the larger man, "Best not to try that though, son. I don't think your buddies would take too kindly to you hitting an old woman."

"Hmph…" the man snorted, footsteps telling that he was turning around briskly. "Stay in your home, you hag. Wouldn't want one of my men seeing your shadow through the trees and shooting first."

"If they can hit me, then I consider it a complement of their skill," Gram rebutted with plenty of sass. "If any of them can hit something my size from a distance in this darkness… I wouldn't worry about them bringing home the right kills to feed the townsfolk."

With his group following, the last thing Scarlett heard was some angry speil to the effect of, "crazy old bag of bones."

Hearing them leave, the rising tension of an impending altercation allayed, Fen seemed to calm down, Scarlett scratching him behind the ears as she spoke, "That's it… good boy. Good boy, Fen." She felt a nervous seizure regret clasp her heart, unsure if that wording was wise, though he seemed to either be unaware of it, or receptive instead. Whatever the case, he began to turn back to normal, the girl falling restless into him, relieved that two potential dangers had passed.

There was a following thunk of the door latch being lowered, giving the small woman emotional breathing room, even if her face was still stuck nestled into Fen's chest.

Unbidden by either of them, the closet door whipped open, a smirking elder woman greeting them.

"I told you to go into my room, not the closet so you two could snog," she teased shamelessly, turning to allow them room to vacate the small space.

"Snog?" the wolf boy asked innocently, head tilted in wonder. Scarlett blushed, stared daggers at her smug looking Gram, and proceeded to facepalm herself with a loud slap.

"...Ow…" she moaned, realizing her folly.

"You okay, Scar?" the wolf boy asked her, leaning in thoughtfully. The girl being addressed felt short of words, cheeks tinting in a gentle blush at the nickname. It tickled at her psyche like a familiar memory, the tingle she felt from it being quite pleasant. Fen seemed to notice something else entirely, frowning and recanting, "Ah… sorry. Scarlett. I didn't mean…"

The brunette snapped herself out of her reverie and shook her head, telling him, "No. No no. It's… fine. I kind of like it…. But… only call me that… between us. Okay?"

"Why's that?" he inquired with a raised brow.

Her mouth parted, unsure how to answer. She couldn't very well tell him that she kinda wanted to hear that only from him. Fen waited patiently for several seconds, the old woman having left them alone.

"I… am not used to it," the cloaked girl partly lied. "I don't know if I want others taking to calling me that too yet…"

He shrugged, seeming to accept it, saying in kind, "It's not like I am fond of meeting others to begin with."

"Ah…" she sighed in mild relief. "Good point."

From out of the room, her grandmother called out, "If you two are done, I would love to clean up and get to bed. I have only one extra bed… but you could both share it?"

"NO!" Scarlett yelped, much quicker and with a higher tone than she meant to.

To her side, and within full view, Fen's ears dipped low and his face turned into a sad pout, to which she knew she was in trouble.

_His face alone is going to break my heart, _became her final musing before coming up with a stuttered slew of apologies and haphazard excuses to her refusal, hoping to lift the poor wolf's dampened spirits.

* * *

***Bows dramatically as the audience 'boos'* **

**Thank you. Thank you. it was a pleasure to troll you all. **

**I know. I'm terrible, just like paper. "Why?" you might ask... Well uh... I have no idea, but I'm sure someone will find something to insult me about. It's inevitable. Might as well pretend it was by design and let the hate flow. XD **

**Now then... REVIEWS!:**

**Neakco: Thank you so much for saying that! I'm glad you love the story. Don't put yourself out though if you don't need to. XD **

**Dream Plane: I appreciate all the kind words. And to note your wishes, I do plan to keep posting this story updated, exempt of my previous intent of exclusive some such. Instead of bribing people with content behind a paywall so they bribe me... I figure I'll let people be my patrons from pure ability to donate and actual belief in my works and skill. **

**Foxy: A big bundle of wolfy fluff apparently... XD **

**DONE! **

**Alrighty then! I shall see you all next update, unless you follow or read my other works too. In which case, I hope to release another chapter of another story in the next day or two. **

**For now, I'm gonna go hit a pumpkin with a hammer. Why?... I've heard about something called "Smashing Pumpkins" but want to see if it's different from smashing watermelons. **

**Until next time, It's been a hustle, Sweethearts!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Salut! Hellu! Top O' the Mornin! **

**A little later than I wanted to release it, but here is another well deserved update for all of you. **

**I am loving the reception so far to my rendition of Little Red. I can't wait to unveil the expansive world building I have planned for this. Now, I won't pretend everyone loves the story and my characters, but I've had so much pawsitivity aimed at Fen, Scarlett, and especially recently, Gram. I wanted her to be a feisty old woman who would stare down a bull and send him running after suffering a tongue lashing. If I haven't sent that vibe out, I sure hope to do so in the future. **

**Thank you all for the feedback. As I probably mentioned, this is an original story of my own making from the ground up, so I'm grateful that I seem to be doing something right so far. **

**Without further stalling, read, fav, follow, review, and enjoy! Now since my last content release was a Strange Snack, today we have Estranged Eats. Basically, I just name off something that seems edible... but is probably something you won't be able to eat, much less imagine without your stomach curdling. Hmmmm... let's say... dipping tortilla chips in a mixture of melted chocolate and cottage cheese. **

* * *

Much to her guilt and his own sense of consideration, Fen ended up sleeping on the floor next to the hearth. Curled up like a wolf in a den, he easily seemed to enter a peaceful state and gave Scarlett freedom to sleep in the extra bedding near the fire.

Her grandmother slept in her own room, away from the warmth of the fire, but with her own tiny wood burning stove to heat the closed room. She wished she had one for her own room, as it was inconveniently on the opposing end of her tiny cottage. The wolf boy had done well to keep her warm though, on that one night. She wished for it again, but her mind kept finding reasons to avoid that end, regardless of comfort.

Though warm enough, the night felt achingly slow, the abnormal venue being more conflict than comfort for her. It made the following morning all that more difficult to endure, even with the distraction of being sent out by her Gram to gather alchemical supplies.

As an apprentice herself, Scarlett was apt enough to find generalized items for healing and soothing pain. That made her no expert however, as her grandmother appeared to be. That was the reason for her initial interest, but she merely brushed her off at the inquiry to begin tutelage under her, remarking, 'Any fool in town can teach you that. I'm too old to spare the patience of teaching."

So, there she was, venturing out in the forest around the elder woman's home and foraging for the means to replenish an alchemical supply that she had no knowledge of what it pertained to.

It was nice to focus on something herself for once. Not that Fen's presence was off putting, but she had to be so careful around him. He seemed the type to potentially see the wrong human and just bolt because he had no real reason to trust they will do much other than hunt him.

Her face contorted in mild distraught, her mind trying to put herself in his position.

She had to agree though. Humans were quite the species to mistrust and avert from. Even she had a tough time dealing with the vast majority of her kind. They were greedy, gluttonous, and always destroying parts of the world for ideals based upon a hierarchy that demanded the lessers to bow to them and their plots.

It was part of the reason she cared not for her would-be suitors. Most of them saw her as a commodity of the home, a waiting servant at their beck and call, or simply someone to agree with their heavily leaned wrongdoings and viewing them as right.

Though he didn't likely remember, to which she had to admit it was fleeting in her own mind as well, Glenn had actually tried to court her once before, though in a fairly lazy fashion. Best she gathered, he was marking down a list of 'pretty women' until one said yes. If his obsessions nowadays were any indication, no one said yes.

Gathering some fungi from the base of a rather mossy tree, Scarlett was justly surprised when a large blur dropped from above and landed deftly next to her.

The wolf boy squatted, face bright and smiling, as he held out paws full of nuts. The hooded girl raised a brow at him. Looking up, she realized from the swaying branches that he had to have leapt down from about two stories up, if not more.

"What's that for?" the young woman questioned, knowing it was one of the ingredients asked for, but not understanding why he needed to climb to get them.

"They're nuts," he relayed simply, appearing happy with his work. "Gram told me the ones higher up are dryer and better for turning to powder. She said it would be safer for me to grab them."

Scarlett was skeptical…

Not of Fen and his motives, as he was too naive to be deceitful in any malicious manner. She was skeptical of what her grandmother told him, though she had no evidence to refute the claim outright.

Whatever the case, she figured it would be nice to have him along.

Taking the nuts, she stowed them in her napsack, telling him, "Thank you, Fen. I appreciate it."

Reaching out by instinct, she scratched at the side of his face, right underneath his jawline. A sudden surge of anxious fear made her realize what the hooded girl just did, but his head leaning into the action made her bite her lip and silently resume.

He really was an animal, in the best of ways.

"This brings back memories," he cooed in a small whisper, enjoying the feeling.

"Your mother?" Scarlett guessed. He seemed to jolt a bit as his eyes averted and seemed far off.

"...yeah…" the wolf boy relented slowly, sounding unsure in her ears, as if this wasn't his first idea. "She did do that a lot."

"I'm sorry," the brunette voiced in a hushed tone, withdrawing and standing up. "I didn't mean to bring that up."

The way he looked at her seemed so innocent, as if he didn't realize her wrongdoing in his own mind. It did her well to know that, to which she gave him as comforting a smile as she could muster.

"It's fine," he rebuked her worries softly. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Just about. Wanna tag along?"

Fen nodded eagerly, stepping in close and striding next to her with a bounce in his steps.

0000000

A goodly portion of the morning passed looking for everything the older woman wanted, with both trudging in, the young woman sighing in mild exhaustion. The wolf boy seemed brimming with energy though, raring to do more.

"Oh, good, good," her grandmother told them offhandedly. "Set everything on the table and take a seat. I almost got breakfast ready."

"Oh… alright," Scarlett mumbled, setting the basket full of ingredients on said table.

"And if you could, Fen, dear," Gram started, "grab some water from the well?"

He nodded, bolting out the door and making a noise as he grabbed a metal pail.

Once he was out of earshot, even for him, the hooded girl shot her elder a look and asked, "You don't need tree nuts from that high for any real reason… so why?"

"The poor boy looked like a sad pup to see you leave without him," she explained, as if prepared for the eventuality. "I gave him a task only he could do to feel like he helped you, since he wasn't quite that necessary to the task I asked of you."

"Ah… guess that makes sense," the brunette relented with a sigh.

"After breakfast, you should go with him for a walk, just the two of you. I'm sure he misses the company."

"We just had a walk sort of thing,... but… sure…" Scarlett agreed tepidly, feeling like her Gram had some ulterior motive, though too little supported her current suspicions.

Fen came in, holding a full pail of water, setting it on the same table with the ingredients and looking between the two, sensing he missed something important as neither held a gaze with the other.

"So, how do you know alchemy?" the young man asked, directing his attention to the old lady.

"I was one of many young apprentices under a grand alchemist," she vaguely detailed. "Unfortunately, I didn't make much of an impact in the way that was desired and had to say goodbye, but I still picked up quite a plethora of tricks."

"Like what?" Fen chirped. Gram shot him a raised eyebrow look, eyeing her granddaughter as well. "Sorry… I don't know much about it and you made me curious now."

"Well most of what I know is simply curative concoctions and means to keep certain animals from intruding on a campsite," she relayed with a dismissive wave. "That's all I had you gather for. And that's why the hunters know me well enough. I make these things to keep larger animals from coming into their camps and eating their food or quite possibly the men themselves, though with their behavior lately…. A few of them going missing would be a blessing."

Scarlett began to giggle ceaselessly, Fen joining in with a mild chuckle.

"Bon appetit," the elder spoke, setting down a couple plates of breakfast in front of the two. "Eat up now, because I'm going to have to kick you out after to do my work."

The young woman rolled her eyes, having been used to this treatment, whereas the wolf boy looked a bit stunned, unsure if this was normal or not.

Scarlett patted his hip from her seated position, mouth full of eggs, signing poorly to him that it was fine.

He smiled and began to eat.

0000000

Full of food and stocked up for a short trip, Scarlett took her grandmother at her advice and decided to accompany Fen into the woods.

He lead the way, slowly treading the forest floor with steps as light as a feather. His tail and ears were once again covered, though with no lack of complaints to that end.

"So… where are we going?" the hooded girl piped up in question, trying to keep her tone as happy as his face looked.

"Um… you sure you wanna come along?" the wolf boy asked with a hand to his neck, scratching softly. "I'm going to see my family. And you didn't react well seeing me as a wolf."

That stunted the young woman's steps and made her halt for a moment, taking that in. His family? Wolf?

"Oh right…" she lamentably remembered. "You said you sleep in a den with wolves."

"Yep! But… we can just walk if you can't handle that?"

"No… You want to check on them right?" Scarlett inquired, seeing the boy nod in affirmation. "Then, let's go."

"Fair warning," Fen voiced with an outstretched hand, as if offering the last out. "It's a bit of a climb. If you want to turn around or have me carry you, let me know."

"I'm a big girl," she refuted with a playful smirk. "I can handle myself well enough."

"As you wish," he shrugged, continuing onwards.

0000000

Nearly half an hour later of walking and treading the land, Scarlett felt like her pride and her confidence had taken a swift blow to the shins, toppling them both like a giant.

Fen wasn't making exaggerations when he remarked about the climb. She had assumed, wrongly, that it was merely a steep incline with plenty of footing.

Oh, how wrong she was.

This den appeared to be up a bluff and recessed into the side of a collapsed hill. The hill itself was easy to traverse, but climbing around the fringes of the hill to the bluff was something a human couldn't easily do. The taller male mentioned he would normally go into his wolf form and take a borrowed path, but she wouldn't fit well. Thus, they took the long way.

Now, here she was, clinging to his broad back and letting him carry her around a slim ledge on the dangerous side of the bluff. Much to her humiliation, Scarlett was squeaking and yelping with each jarring movement of the wolf boy, tightening her hold around his midsection more as he leaped from hold to hold, scaling the side of the bluff with strange precision.

It felt like many minutes but was probably only a single minute, as the two slipped into a wide opening overlooking the forested region below. If the hooded girl remembered correctly, Stone Glades was to their southwest, leaving this view to the north unhindered by civilization.

It was beautiful, with rolling hills and shades of green blanketing the landscape. The hills rose in height, turning into low lying mountains in the distance, foggy clouds hanging around the peaks.

The young woman couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face, forgetting the height to which she just braved.

A growl behind her made her blood curdle and ice over, thighs now trembling and eyes locking down onto the ground, as if the act of turning around would make the danger more so. A hand snapped to her arm, the age old scar tingling as fear creeped in.

"Woah woah!" came the faded voice of Fen in the background, laughing slightly. "She's a friend."

The growling seemed to stifle a bit, upon the wolf hearing the calming voice of Fen.

"Scarlett here is a friend come to visit," he further soothed. "No need to get defensive. I promise."

There was a snapping of a maw behind her and the stuttered whine of a wolf that seemed to be scaling down the aggression.

It didn't do much to diminish the feeling that now clutched at her heart and threatened to crush her mind. Her sight seemed hyper focused on a single spot in front of her, an imaginary bubble shrinking in on her psyche. Her chest felt starved of air, fingers digging into her chest, willing her body to breathe. Tears began to sting the corners of her eyes, making what vision she had left clouded beneath a watery haze.

As if from far away, out of her now water like enclosing world, the wolf boy called out to her with a faded, "Scarlett?"

Her eyes searched for him, eyes still having trouble looking at him with the shadowy enclosure around a very confined circle for her vision.

She grasped her head, gasping and wanting to retch. Her body wanted to do something… anything… to relieve this pressure pressing in on her body from all angles, physical or not.

A new pressure encircled her, to which she almost threw a fit to be free from…

...but it was warm… and safe… and anchoring her from her crushing descent.

"I'm here, Scar…" the low tone of Fen cooed in her ear, breath warming the lobe. "I'm here…"

She felt what had to be his arms grabbing her from behind, hugging her tight, but oddly enough, she felt it was far easier to take a breath now. Her chest became less tight, a long draw of air entering her after having felt like she was suffocating.

Slowly, feeling returned and the two were now on their knees on the floor of the den, his arms wrapped around her chest, his face nestled snugly into the crook of her neck, breath warm against her exposed flesh.

With her mind and body settling back into something more 'normal', Scarlett found herself blushing at the intimate contact. She wanted to give into the reflex reaction to throw him off, but her body was too weak and slack to even try, giving in rather to slumping into him more. Against her reactive instinct, the young woman reveled in the warmth he provided, breathing low and slow to recover from her ordeal.

A hand rested on her head, stroking through her hair and calming her further.

A small whine of tumultuously embarrassing approval left her lips, teeth biting into her lower lip. Legs tucked to her chest, her own arms clinging to his larger ones, the hooded girl stayed silent in his ministrations.

It was several minutes before either dared to speak, with Fen being the first to utter a question.

"Are you alright?"

"I think…" she agreed tepidly, standing to face him. "I'm at least better than before."

"That's good… but what happened?" the boy curiously and compassionately inquired. His eyes then widened in realization, adding, "Oh! I'm so sorry… the wolves."

"No!" Scarlett reacted, hands up, waving him down apologetically. "It's… I don't know…"

The wolf boy's eyes became contemplative, staring off to the side as he murmured, "Now or never…"

"What?..." she asked breathlessly, head tilting slightly, in mimicry of what she'd seen him do all too often.

Turning to her, blue/amber eyes full of purpose as they rested on her, he told the young woman, "I think I know why you're afraid of wolves…"

0000000

Scarlett looked blankly upon his face, more confused than taking in that he might have answers.

"You… know?"

He nodded.

"But… I already know. It was a wolf that attacked me… and a boy… he was…" she began, raising a hand to wave around, bringing direction to her faded memories. Fen's hands clasping around her raised one as he shook his head in the negative.

"That's… not entirely accurate," the wolf boy told her, burning amber striking a memory in her mind like a chord in a song. "I… was the wolf…"

She gasped, free hand going to her mouth as she mumbled from behind it, "Then that means you… the boy?"

"...and I was the boy…" he finished, shocking her further.

"Wait… but…" she started, unsure how to correlate the new information into well ingrained memories.

"I… got over excited in my wolf form," Fen began to explain, holding her stare and resting on his knees with her, the wolves keeping their distance for but a moment. "Ended up playing with you until I bit you. Harder than I meant… but the damage was done. You were crying, screaming, and running. I shifted back to being… human… and tried to apologize… but you were scared. I don't remember what you said, being drowned out by your crying, though I was too ashamed of my own actions leading to you being hurt."

As he talked, some puzzle pieces began to fill in a few gaps in her memories, with her vaguely recalling playing with a very animalistic boy. She still didn't quite remember him shifting from one form to another, believing that that detail should be hard to forget.

"For a while," the wolf boy continued, stepping back and giving her some space, "I was afraid to come back, worried I might lose control of myself again. Terrible timing, honestly. My mother ended up very ill. So,... no more visits to your grandmother's cabin while she wasn't well."

"Oh Fen…" Scarlett cooed to him, regaining her voice.

"She passed and I was… in a conundrum," he kept going. "Some men came to my house, claiming that she owed them money and ready to take me as compensation. I didn't understand but I'm betting they were going to sell me as a child slave or something, in hindsight. Whatever the case, I got violent and lost control again. One of them lost an arm and I fled into the forest. Your grandmother found me hiding and offered to take me in."

"Then how did I never…" she began to ask.

"I begged her to never tell you," Fen murmured, eyes now averting and hazy with the threat of tears brewing. "She reluctantly agreed, feeding me, clothing me, teaching me."

"Why?" the hooded girl squeaked out, voice watery.

"I didn't want to hurt you," came his equally strangled voice, tears about to leak liberally from foggy eyes. "If I wasn't scared of what I could do before… I was when I ripped a man's arm off when he tried to force me from the home my mother raised me in. I… just couldn't be that threat to you."

"Did you know it was me? When we met again…?"

His head shook, hands shaking slightly.

"I didn't know until you showed me the scar on your arm from my bite…" he relented softly. "Your story was off so I didn't outright make it known. I should have known you would have a fear like this…"

Tears began to fall as Scarlett gradually realized something. Her reaction was not one of fear… but of guilt. She remembered her reaction, even if he didn't hear the words she spoke through her tearful stupor at the time.

She did remember playing with him now. He would shift from wolf form to human almost effortlessly, tackling her and licking her face like any dog. She did remember him getting over energetic and biting her pretty hard, to which she told him some very hurtful things to the effect of "Never come near me again" or "You're a monster". All stupid things kids would say without thinking about the consequences.

The young woman also remembered how guilty she felt that he seemed to take that to heart, leaving directly after and a pit growing in her heart from driving away her best friend as a child. Over time, she must have disassociated her guilt at driving him away with the repressed and slightly delusional ideal that he was killed by the 'wolf' that hurt her.

"Show me your wolf form," Scarlett demanded with a leveled tone, strained though cohesive in her tearful haze.

"W-what?" Fen stuttered in response, looking at her like she was asking him to jump from the bluff. "Are… are you sure?"

She held a stern and resolved gaze with him, making him sigh slowly and nod his head.

He stood up, starting to strip clothing off carefully, shocking the hooded girl into stepping back and belting out, "What are you doing?!"

"I don't want to ruin the clothes you gave me…" the wolf boy replied innocently, having not stopped removing articles of clothing and placing them carefully on a nested bed of grass. "My wolf form isn't the right size for this clothing and I would just rip it."

"O-oh… right," Scarlett caved in with a mild tone, unable to refute his argument.

Stripped down to an underlayer of his wraps, Fen seemed to concentrate and lean down, body morphing slowly. Skin that was bare grew dense, dark fur, his face becoming furry and elongating into a muzzle. Hands and feet turned into paws, claws extending as blue/amber eyes became more amber, ears getting longer and fuzzier as well.

In only seconds, Scarlett was staring at the very large and imposing wolf she woke up next to that first morning.

Now that she understood the rooted cause of her reaction, the girl felt no knee jerk reaction to him, instead remembering a final fragment to her cascading collection of mottled memories.

Reaching out, she threw her body at his exceptionally elegant form, wrapping her arms around his neck and nuzzling her face against his muzzle, tears streaking their way down her cheeks as she smiled.

"I've missed you… Fenrir."

There was a whine, along with a huff, as the wolf seemed to take that in and nuzzle her in return, tongue snaking out to lick the back of her neck from his angle. She giggled at that and nestled further against him, her hands stroking his thick and soft wolf fur.

Finally persuaded of her innocent intent, the she wolf and her pups sauntered in, with the latter tripping over their own paws. They weren't newborns… but the young woman knew they hadn't gained the grace and balance that came later in life.

When the large mother wolf closed in, pressing her nose to sniff at Scarlett's side, her initial reaction was to stiffen up and fight off a paralyzing anxiety from an only recently discovered resolution to her 'fear'.

She had to remind herself of the now present knowledge, that the boy and wolf were one and neither died. He was right here. She had no reason to fear wolves. In fact, her fingers were weaving through the fur of one she was clinging to for comfort.

Sensing her dissonance, Fen dipped his head low and laid down to rest his chin in her lap, eyes looking up expectantly.

Scarlett's lip quivered as she withheld a squeal of delight at his innocent display, hand lowering to rub the top of his head, his eyes fluttering closed.

It was calming… more so than she could have ever thought. A breath the hooded girl didn't know she was holding began to vent out slowly, her heart ceasing it's pounding and reducing itself to a murmur.

Behind her, the mother wolf leaned against her back, while the cubs seemed jealous of the doting affection the wolf boy was currently receiving. They nosed and nudged at her arms and free hand, to which she cooed in pleasure and began giving them turns with small head pets and strokes down the back.

Now surrounded by fur, along with curious noses and eyes, Fen walked away and shifted back, quickly clothing himself before Scarlett had a chance to be flustered by him again.

"You remember my name," he spoke softly, reaching out to rest a hand on her arm. Scarlett turned to him and saw his heart melting smile, laden with an underlying appreciation of something she didn't quite understand.

"I'm sorry I forgot it in the first place," she replied to him, reaching out to tussle his fluffy black hair, the wolf boy's smile becoming infectious and making her face break open in one as well.

"We were kids," Fen supplied as reason for her. "We didn't even know our parents' names, calling them simply mother or father."

"What about your father?" Scarlett asked reflexively, remembering he only mentioned his mother dying. She instantly regretted asking when his face fell.

"I… don't know who he is."

Ears dipping, face slack, the young man gave her a lackluster smile to try reassuring her it was fine.

"I'm sorry for asking…" she mumbled.

More genuinely this time, but breaking her heart no less, Fen gently grinned, offering her a pat to the leg and voicing, "I can't fault you for not knowing. And now you do. No harm done."

"I feel like you knowing me sometimes makes things the worst for you… and yet you are still so kind," Scarlett rattled off in a mild venting rush. "If I hadn't made you stay… hadn't…"

Fen's hand awkwardly covered her mouth, to which he giggled and shushed her.

"Silence."

She nodded, whereas he took his hand away, saying, "Knowing you is fantastic. You don't treat me like I'm less than you because I'm half of something else. As far as I know… I've never met another like me."

"There's tales of other werewolves…" Scarlett began, her voice fading as Fen's ears dipped and eyes lowered. "W-what?"

"Those tales… please… they don't help," the boy whispered abashedly.

"Oh… OH! I'm so sorry!" she belted out, making the pups jump as she leaned forward to encircle him in a hug. "I didn't mean it that way. I meant maybe there's more like you."

"I… uh… yeah?" he half-heartedly replied in question. "Most of those tales I just assumed were false, since I'm sorta labeled as one but I'm not a ravenous beast turned from human to wolf. I'm me…"

"Yes you are," Scarlett cooed to him, petting him once again. It was different to do so than his wolf form, but her mindset in the moment was blind to that, only seeing him as a lonely creature that was split between two worlds.

"Shouldn't we head back…?" Fen offered after a few minutes of near silence, parting from Scarlett's innocent affection and rising to his feet. "I only needed to come out here to check up on them."

"Aww… alright," the hooded girl relented, rising as well and dusting her legs off. This time around, she ditched the skirt for some sturdy dark pants, a grey coat keeping her warm beneath her long hooded cloak, both courtesy of her Gram. She normally would have gone more to showcasing the style that most in the village expected of a seamstress and a woman, but it was far more comfortable and practical to dress like this for walks in the woods and foraging for alchemy ingredients.

"Quick path or safe path?" Fen asked simply, offering her a hand.

"Uh… will the quick path be scary?" Scarlett tentatively inquired in kind, using a hand to rake back a stray lock of hair.

"Only if you're looking down… so… close your eyes?" came his answer, shrugging awkwardly.

She grasped his hand, meekly adding, "Alri-"

...to which she was yanked forcefully into his waiting arms as he used a free hand to grab a very large root and vault out the open cliffside of the den, looping upward and bracing his feet on a sturdy boulder embedded into the earth.

Stifling her urge to yelp and scream, the young woman braced against him, with Fen leaping high and grabbing another hand hold. Guessing he wasn't used to the climb, Scarlett heard him snarl in a low tone, his footing slipping before he dug in harder and jumped again.

Thankfully for her nerves, the second jump, though perilous and horrendous to experience, was enough to crest the bluff above and Fen landed firmly next to a large tree growing over the edge, gently setting Scarlett down. Her legs were jelly as she took deep breaths, with the wolf boy taking a page from her book and petting her head to calm her down.

"I see why you like doing this now," he spoke with a pure smile on his face. Any embarrassing defiance she may have wished to speak died in her throat at that smile, with Scarlett parting her mouth and sighing. Whatever nerves felt frayed and sensitive, were now dulled and silent in the wake of such calming attention, a pleasant tingle going up her spine and causing her to arch her back slightly.

In a fleeting moment, it was over and Fen was steadying the young woman, guiding her by the small of her back and beginning the trek down a very shallow incline.

Finding her voice once more, Scarlett spoke, "I'm glad you aren't human…"

As she expected, his ears perked curiously, with him donning his hat upon realizing he was in the open again, then training his eyes inquisitively on her, waiting for an explanation.

Smiling softly, she supplied, "You are so much more than any human could be. Humans are just horrible. Greedy, selfish, and too prideful to admit others are better than them, making plenty start wars over who's 'better'. You live purely and never seem to hold grudges, even when someone is trying to kill you… You give me every consideration and only want companionship that many are too stubborn to be honest about."

"You say humans as if you aren't one yourself," Fen relayed with a mild inflection, insinuating a questioning tone, head tilting and blue/amber eyes trained on her.

Her mossy green eyes locked with his own, mind coming up with the right phrasing for her more implicit thoughts on the matter.

She voiced her formulating thoughts slowly, "I… don't always fit in well with other humans. Guess I didn't think much about it until you came along and I rethought what being 'human' was."

"Your Gram has a wonderful saying concerning fitting in," the wolf boy stated with a mild chuckle at the end of his sentence. Giving the hooded girl a smirk, with her head nodding to coax him into continuing, he quoted, "She told me a few times when I was worried about why I was considered outside humanity, 'Fitting in is for two things and two things only. Your home and your clothes. Anything else matters little because anyone that matters will accept you for any shape of mind and heart.'"

A very wide and genuine smile spread across her features, with Scarlett fixated on the look in his eyes when he spoke to her. A blush tainted her cheeks as Fen's gaze turned hazy, his eyes shimmering with a far off look, lips slightly upturned in a lopsided grin.

"S-should we head b-back?" the young girl asked in a mild stutter, lifting her hood to cover her flushed face and embarrassing expression at seeing how cute Fen looked. She felt like a nervous bundle of knots now, fearing her face reflected that sentiment.

"Yep!" he replied all too cheerily.

Hiking down the incline from the bluff towards the more level terrain of the loamy forest below, Fen suddenly turned to her and dipped his head down, nose inches from Scarlett's own, her eyes crossing to look at it in a stunned state as he told her in a near whisper, "You are someone that matters."

Out of nowhere, and leaving her mortified with confusion, the wolf boy let out a happy whine and licked her nose, turning easily and sauntering away like did nothing at all.

With her mouth gaping open for several seconds, Scarlett went from insensate to indignant upon remembering how often he would tease her as a child like that. Years later and he was still the little devious sprite of a pup that purposefully incited her with conflicting emotions.

Before she could stop herself, the hooded girl began to sprint after him, yelling out a now familiar line from their childhood, "Get back here you mangy mutt!"

He cackled all too excitedly, bounding forward. The chase was on.

Nearby, behind a line of trees, a man with a crossbow lowered his weapon, sighing in frustration.

"Idiots…," he grumbled. "Gonna get themselves hurt with all the hunters out. This is the region Glenn keeps griping about that 'Beast'."

Raising a brow, the hunter looked towards the bluff the two descended from. With fingers reaching for his head, he scratched and wondered aloud, "Huh… what the heck were those two doing up there anyways?"

A few select and indecent thoughts entered his mind and he waved them off as if it were a smoky cloud above his head.

"Damn kids."

* * *

**Yay! More stuff to read! **

***Begins writing more* **

**It never ends! lol. **

**Can't wait for all the respectable and constructive reviews/comments to come in... and that one very negative insulting review that I can laugh at. Seriously, you ever get a review that's so negative and void of reason with its points that you mentally invalidate it as a viable opinion and just... smile? Or laugh? **

**Anywho! **

**REVIEWS!:**

**Dream Plane: I'm glad you think as much about everything you mentioned. And yes. Gram is relentless. XD I love writing her. **

**Neakco: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it. **

**DONE!  
**

**Alrighty then, now I shall go chase a squirrel up a tree that stole my wallet. I probably shouldn't have pictures of nuts in there... I mean my family... same deal right?**

**Until next time, It's been a hustle, Sweethearts! **


	5. Chapter 5

**YAY! Another chapter! **

**In other also good ish news... I moved! (Which half explains why an update was long coming). The past month has been packing, extra work hours to pay for moving expenses, dealing with a few time consuming hookup issues to the new apartment, and the actual unpacking and labor of moving a bunch of stuff whereas it was only me and my lovely girlfriend. **

**And Nope. You don't get to know where I moved to. (Candyland) **

**Either way, I'm glad to get back into the writing groove and TRY to pump out some more consistency. **

**Now then, read, fav, follow, review, enjoy, and grab that strange snack. Today, mine is sandwiching chocolate ice cream in between vanilla wafers. **

* * *

Remiss as she was to have to admit it, Scarlett knew she had to return home before another night passed.

Thus, her and Fen parted ways, with a swash of old memories and new information fresh on her mind.

He stayed behind with her grandmother for reasons only her Gram knew, with her venturing alone back to her house.

Reaching the small stone cottage, she sighed in both relief and a sense of longing.

The place felt cold and dim, with no Fen to greet her homecoming like an excitable pup. Sunbeams from the afternoon bleeding through the windows and lighting up the room. The hearth was ashen grey and dim as well, needing a good half hour at least to build a proper fire for cooking or heating.

The hooded young woman usually felt quite proud to have her own place, but right now she was disappointed. It felt so vast and empty, dry and cold.

As if to remind her of the fact, a chill settled in, giving her goosebumps and a shiver. Scarlett hugged herself and hunched over, letting her cloak splay over the stone floor and become like a tent around her body.

It was strange to imagine she'd lived here alone for a while, yet it never felt as cold and empty as it did now.

"I miss him," she sighed to herself, not even doing her usual mental evasiveness of justifying her feelings. She missed him. Simple as that.

Standing back up again, Scarlett decided it was best to start the fire, pulling off her cloak and hanging it up. Moving to the hearth, she found a small wooden box and pulled a long matchstick from it, with a small cloth in it to keep everything dry. The dark haired young woman then went to the stack of wood and kindling to get her fire going.

Perking up, she went back outside for a moment to grab some dry brush to bring back in. Kindling was great to get a fire going enough to burn the larger logs she would put on it, but it didn't light easily, needing something small, dry, and easy to burn.

Building a tiny tent of wood in her hearth, with a loosely packed ball of leaves and pine needles under it, she struck the matchstick on an abrasive stone, to which it sparked a flame easily. Guiding it with a protective hand, the brush lit on fire and quickly grew.

Her next half hour was spent trying to prep a meal from what she had around, not really in a mood to talk to other people in town, while also feeding some brush to the fire in small increments until it sustained itself. Thankfully, she still had some food and water around to make a meal.

From a pantry, she pulled some dry hung vegetables, salt cured beef, and some small bones to make a stew. She wouldn't eat the bones but they were useful in cracking open and letting the flavor from seep into a stew, then be removed later.

For the next hour, she was simply staring into the fire, occasionally messing with it to keep it going by shifting the wood or adding more. The pot hung above the now steady fire, simmering away with minced and chopped ingredients.

It was so much to take in, with the wolf she feared from her childhood, along with the boy she thought was killed, being the same person.

"Fenrir," she sounded out, as if reminding herself, lest she forget once more.

Scarlett grinned slightly as she knew she would still call him 'Fen', as that seemed more endearing and familiar.

The young woman began to laugh, gasping out in thought, "Fen... rear… pfft. Oh… I'm so terrible." Wiping away a tear of laughter, she grabbed a bowl and ladled a healthy helping of stew.

Now that she was away from him, there was a part of her asking, _What is your connection to him?_

_We're apparently childhood friends, _Scarlett replied easily to that voice.

_Nooo… You know what I'm asking. _

_I actually don't, _she rebuked, feeling a tinge of annoyance at… well… herself.

_What is Fen to you… right now?_

"He's…" the young girl started in a whisper, running a couple fingers through her hair.

There was a knock at the door that made her squeak and jump, quickly setting down her stew to bolt to the door. She peeked through a tiny hole and saw a familiar face.

Unlatching the door, Scarlett opened it…

...to be promptly hugged/tackled by a taller woman who was, by her own admission, 'half friend, half infuriating'.

"Oof… Uh… Hi there, Joan," the smaller woman grumbled out, breathing impaired by the bear hug she was captured in, her toes a few inches above the floor.

"You're looking as small and cute as ever!" Joan vented out happily.

"Thank… you?" she stated in reply, unsure if that was meant as a compliment. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Also… can you put me down?"

"Oh? Of course!" the taller woman cheered, opening her arms abruptly, letting Scarlett land a little hard. "As for why I'm here, I heard you do some tailoring."

"I do…" came her cautious response.

Joan was friend of Scarlett's for around five years, the two befriending as neighbors when the shorter still lived with her parents. The taller woman was six years older, with darker brown hair, light brown eyes and a pale complexion. They hit it off rather well, even considering she could sometimes rival her mother in the whole 'when will you find a man?' department.

In a town as close knit and not so expansively populated as others, one takes what they can get when it comes to social engagements and relationships.

Not to say she disliked her, but Scarlett found almost as many things infuriating about the slightly older woman as she did things to love.

Over the years, it was mostly Joan who initiated their visits or outings, even after Scarlett moved out into her own place.

Recently though, her visits didn't come without potentially needing to ask or request something.

"Wonderful!" chirped Joan loudly. "My darling's birthday is coming up and I was hoping to have you help me with a present."

Scarlett let her caution fade a bit as optimism bled through, replying, "That's great! I would be happy to help, if that was what you needed?"

"Absolutely, Letty," the taller lady confirmed. "Of course, I'll be paying you well. Just as well, I plan to provide the materials you need."

Slightly flabbergasted, Scarlett took that in. She knew Joan's husband had some money, being a partner in a trading company that shipped product in this region, but the two weren't exactly rolling in riches.

"Do you know what materials you want to use for it, as well as an idea of your request?" she inquired of Joan, hoping this wasn't a free for all job. It was usually nice to have artistic leeway in certain aspects of a job, but when a customer didn't even give you much more than a concept to work off of, then they could be offput by a result that is quite different than their imaginings. So, she tried to make sure they told her all they could.

"As for that… I'm afraid I'm none too clear on an idea," she told Scarlett, the shorter female deflating a bit at hearing that. Joan noticed and amended politely, "Which is why I was hoping you were free today to go perusing the market with me for fabrics and figuring out what would be something my dear Eldred would like. If it helps, winter is coming and I would love to help replace his older coats with something newer. He can be a bit too practical and I believe it would help his meetings with prospective clients if he looked more… fashionable."

"Mind if I eat first, then we can go?" the shorter woman asked with a fading tone, feeling tired but not wanting to give up what could only be a lucrative offer. "In fact, would you like some?"

"Absolutely!" the older woman agreed easily. "I must say you've done so well for yourself. I'm almost envious."

"Almost?" Scarlett teased with a mild snicker.

"Well I can't deny I certainly enjoy the security of having a husband who provides," Joan began, "but your independence, especially in a world of… narrow minded men… can't be easy to maintain. I'm envious of your ability to do as you have and the will to strive for more."

"It's not as difficult as you might think," the younger lady mentioned, giving her friend a bowl of stew. "You just have to ignore the status quo people tell you. Though, to be honest, my main drive is that I want to decide my life for myself, not be corralled into a single end because it's expected."

"I suppose you're right, though part of that reason is why I came to you. I wanted to do something aside from my usual to try providing my husband something."

"Oh! Another question," Scarlett interjected. "A coat is less stringent on measurements than other types of clothing, but do you have measurements for your husband on hand…?"

Joan smiled as she whipped out a rolled piece of parchment, handing it over and letting the younger woman unfurl it, looking at the scribbled ink measurements.

"Eldred gets fitted for a few suits a year," she explained to Scarlett. "It wasn't hard to copy the tailor's notes for my own benefit. He just got a suit tailored a week ago and the man doing the job was kind enough to keep it quiet."

As the two ate, the younger woman got out some parchment of her own and began to scribble notes. Donning her ruby red cloak once more, they readied to head out before it got too late, discussing details and ideas concerning what Joan wished to present to her husband.

In the end, it was agreed that Eldred would need something darker, sleeker, and professional, but still retaining a sense of elegance that elevated the man's appearance when in the company of investors and/or prospective clients.

That meant a trip to the other side of Stone Glades, to the Goods District. While the market for food was more centric for ease of access to the townsfolk, other such goods merchants needed to set up shop on the edge of town, in order to take in deliveries from providers and hunters around the town, as well as keep their more noisy practices localized and away from homes. Suffice it to say, a community of citizens didn't want to hear a carpenter, blacksmith, or some other such practice using large and loud tools, making their racket through the day and some nights.

Walking through the street, Scarlett led the pair towards the merchant for fabrics, the trip such a familiar one to her, that it was muscle memory at this point.

Contrary to the nature of the central shopping area, people weren't crowding the streets, since most that came this direction knew exactly what they needed and where to go to find it. Anyone in the street was basically hauling carts full of supplies recently bought or ready to sell, with any loitering parties discussing trade and budgets away from merchant's ears.

Considering the nature of the products being sold, hardly any of the merchants allowed their merchandise to be displayed out front, instead being shown off in the window.

The hooded girl opened the door to her go-to establishment, a small bell tinkling at their arrival.

There was already a few people inside, perusing the wares and inspecting bolts of fabric.

Scarlett and Joan joined the fray, with the younger woman taking close looks at everything. She cast a curious glance at her elder friend.

Joan smiled and sighed, "Don't hold back on my account. Lay it all out for me."

Clearing her throat, the short hooded girl chose to stop being indecisive, remarking, "Well, working based off my own inclinations is problematic because my ideas may not cater to your husband well. However, I can certainly work well from the 'practical' angle you mentioned about him earlier."

"Right," the older woman conceded, acknowledging the explanation, but not interrupting.

"My suggestion is dark wool," Scarlett explained. "If we find the right quality, it can look good, protect from the cold, and be easy to clean. Something navy blue or black would be ideal. A softer material on the inside would be good, but not below the waistline. Suffice it to say, a long coat does little more than deflect the cold wind below the waist."

"I am loving how into this you are," the older of the two remarked with a glowing smile.

The young woman blushed a bit, feeling a bit self conscious now, complement or not.

"I… just want to get it right," came her sincere reply.

"Well you grab what bolts you think you'll need and I'll pay," Joan continued, striding past Scarlett to look over some fabrics herself.

"Wait… what? Whole bolts? You know this shopkeep has bolts measuring around some twenty yards long on average?" the hooded girl fired off her questions, a panic seeping in at wondering if her friend truly realized how much that might cost.

"I'm well aware," the woman simply retorted, the coy grin still plastered to her face. "I prefer to overestimate the needs of this project, rather than overthink the price."

A sound, if not infuriatingly naive and wasteful logic. Scarlett knew she might need only a few yards of the wool, a couple more for liner on the inside, then maybe another yard for hemming, not to mention thread.

But… entire bolts of each different fabric she needed? That was too much. What would she do with the…

A thought suddenly occurred, although the smaller lady needed to be sure of something.

"What about the extra I have no need for?"

Joan appeared to be in thought, with Scarlett knowing full well she was feigning it, obviously having already had the answer well in advance.

"Why not use it for yourself?" the older of the two teased, making the younger sigh in mild exasperation.

"Fine," the red hooded girl relented, already knowing what she could do with the excess.

Without further mention for or against it, for potential fear of changing the outcome, Scarlett began gathering the materials she needed.

"Oh look, Letty!" Joan exclaimed mildly from the other side of the shop. "There's a leather and fur selection over here!" The smaller lady perked her head up from being neck deep in a wooden crate full of bolts, turning to notice the archway that linked the nextdoor leatherworker's shop to the fabric merchant's place.

It was something she was used to, having frequented the Goods District quite often. She quirked a brow, realizing Joan probably never cared to make the trip out here though. Either way, it was a mutually profitable arrangement for the two shops, with others doing similar things if they needed it.

One of the blacksmiths has a paved path to the back of the fur and skins shop to procure leather for armor. The carpenter across the street had a lock box outside for the fabric merchant to drop off orders of cloth to be used in upholstery and furniture. The glassmaker also worked with the carpenters of the street, as well as the apothecary coming to them often for jars, vials, and any other means to store their concoctions and poultices.

She loved that about this place. The crafters, no matter the trade, usually couldn't work in just their area alone. They needed supplies that they couldn't always make themselves. They coordinated and worked together, relying on each other and respecting one another.

As opposed to some of the neighborhoods, whispering rumors like poison, these merchants and crafters cared more about the work than what personal oddities their neighbor had.

"...and I see some beautiful wolf fur!" her friend resumed, ripping Scarlett from her distracted thoughts. "I'll bet that would do well as a lining to the collar. What do you think, Letty?"

With a few bolts of fabric already in hand, the hooded girl waddled awkwardly over to Joan, stunned into silence by the combination of those words. She'd never ruminated over such a thing longer than a second or two, but now the very thought of 'wolf fur' being sold felt wrong.

She quickly retreated to her mind to attempt some level of reasoning why not. The young woman knew there was completely valid and viable reasons against it that she considered, but now they just seemed to leave her entirely.

"It's… b-beautiful. Um… But…" she began to stutter, drawing a perked brow from her taller friend. Scarlett took in a slow breath and tried to regain her composure. "...It's… definitely something beautiful, however… it's something that can be a pain to clean. If he's going to wear it often, best to have something that won't degrade too fast."

"I've seen plenty of people wearing fur though," Joan offered in a curious rebuke, giving the hooded girl a chance to explain. "What would make it degrade?"

"You are right," Scarlett mentioned further, "though wearing it as a liner around the collar could cause oils from the skin to make it become matted and irritate him, as well as degrade the pelt. I actually found a cotton cloth bolt I could use as the inner liner."

"If you say so," the taller woman said cheerily, giving in rather easily. The younger lady was all too grateful that her friend took her explanation in stride. It wasn't a lie, as some pelts were more prone to damage from sweat and such from human wear. Those of wolves, coyotes, and rabbits were thin skinned, making her arguments sound.

Looking around to distract from her own awkwardness, Scarlett found a roll of leather she could use.

"Ha! This will work well though," she excitedly relayed to Joan, who tilted her head to look at the tag.

"Deerskin?"

"Yep! It'll be great to use for pockets," the red hooded girl detailed in short. "Thick, tough, and still flexible."

"Oh this is getting me so excited!" the older of the two cheered, clapping her hands together in a dainty manner. "I can't wait to see Eldred's face when you complete it. Do you think you have everything?"

"I think I'm about finished. Just need some threat and maybe a couple other supplies."

A few more minutes of looking around and gathering what was required ensued for the pair, before going to the respective owners and paying them in kind for their goods.

Seeing as the goods exceeded an amount of currency that any sensible person would carry on them, Joan gave them a payment in coin upfront, with a signed writ for the each of the crafters to take to her estate and collect on from any staff attending.

Turning to leave, with the shopkeep seeming very pleased at the recent sale, Scarlett slung the bundle on her back and was promptly knocked aside, stumbling but not falling.

"Watch where you are going!" a familiar gruff tone chastised her.

Rising by instinct to unleash a veritable barrage of verbal abuse at the source of the voice, the hooded girl froze upon realizing it was Glenn.

Biting her tongue, she turned to shuffle out, murmuring a faux apology to keep him from focusing on her for too long.

From a backwards glance, and some eavesdropping, she witnessed him slam a tied up bundle of pelts on the table.

Joan was already waiting outside, giving her a minute to listen in.

"Here's my delivery for the week," the man grumbled. The shopkeep crossed his arms and stared, almost uninterested… or disappointed.

"Come on, Glenn… where's the other three you promised?"

"I've been busy, Ok?" Glenn remarked, turning away to give a customer next to him a dirty glare.

The merchant sighed, "Still having a one-sided row with that 'beast' of yours?"

The hunter's fist slammed the counter, with the crafter looking unimpressed, likely having seen the much larger man do this before.

"It's out there… I've seen it."

"Yeah yeah… and ever since you saw it, you've also seen fit to drag those who supply me on a damn crusade for the thing," the shopkeep griped, jabbing a finger into Glenn's chest. "That was nearly two weeks worth of product you kept out of my shops. If I didn't have a good inventory, I might have been in real trouble, as would much of the town."

At that, the crafter dropped a few silver pieces on the counter and gestured to them.

"That's it?" the hunter growled low, anger seeping from him once more. "This bundle should grab thrice that!"

"AS I SAID, you lummox…" seethed the crafter, eyes burning with a fire that could rival the smith's forge at that moment, "...You are the direct cause of this town suffering a supply loss. I could easily tell you to screw off, so take what I'm giving you graciously and start doing your job. If you want full pay, give me the full quota you promised. Simple as that."

Whether he figured it was useless to argue, or was too angry to stand it any longer, Glenn smacked a large hand on top the coins and dragged them from the counter, grumbling as he turned and stomped out.

Scarlett turned and kept her hood up, with the hunter giving the red hood a flickering glance.

It felt familiar to him, with faded memories trying to resurface. Wanting to address it, he turned to look back in the direction of the one wearing it…

...only to see that whoever it was had gone.

0000000

Scarlett and Joan walked briskly back to the former's cottage, her heart pounding from the close encounter.

When he passed her and she heard him stop, she bolted to the opening and exited from the fabric shop door, rejoining her friend and taking off her cloak to avoid him picking her out in the street.

Maybe it was nothing, but she didn't want him to suddenly grasp at any reason to suspect her.

Sure… she could potentially avoid this problem by never wearing her red cloak again, but she spent a lot of time making it. She loved it. Besides that, it was a showcase of her skill and craft to those who noticed.

"I'll come back in a week's time to check up on you," Joan told her, the older woman getting ready to leave as the sunset scorched the sky.

"Sounds great! I should be able to finish everything in two to three weeks, if all goes well," Scarlett assured.

"I look forward to seeing it finished, as well as giving it to my husband." The taller of them then began fishing in her coat for something, pulling out a small pouch. "Here's an advance. It should help you pay for anything we forgot, or supplement your living expenses. And I'll make sure to give credit where it's due."

"Thanks, Joan," the hooded girl breathed. "I really appreciate this."

She nodded and took her leave, letting the younger succumb to tired legs and some leftover nerves from before.

"I wonder if it's wrong for me to feel like today was both nice and awful," she groaned in lamentation, Joan having left and well out of earshot, nevermind out of sight.

Her stomach growled loudly in the quiet and empty house.

"Hush, you," Scarlett chided her own belly. It grumbled once more in rebellion. "Fine… bread it is."

0000000

A couple hundred feet away, blue/amber eyes honed in on the smaller woman as the taller one left. Nearly thirty feet up high in a tree, taking a bite out of a green apple, Fen looked on with mixed feelings.

Gram kept him behind to chastise his decision to bring her to his wolf family, denoting his behavior as stupid and foolish. He definitely felt the sting of her words… as well as that of her wooden spoon upon his head… several times.

Rubbing the spot, he winched in mild pain at the memory.

Regardless, the elder woman was certainly glad that they came to terms with parts of the past and laid it all out.

_I've got enough secrets to keep for myself without worrying over keeping yours for you, _she had complained loudly to his sensitive ears.

It made him wonder what secrets she had to keep. Maybe it was a means to make her point sink in, but the wolf boy noticed her look as she said it. There was a pain behind her eyes that seemed… guilty?

He huffed and bit into the apple again, licking a sweet dribble of juice from the apple off his wrist.

It also begged another question, when he thought about it.

Gram mentioned they could hide in the chamber under her cabin floor. As long as he either lived in or visited her woodland cabin, she always told him to stay out of it. They ended up in a closet to 'snog', whatever that meant, so it was sort of a moot point, but he couldn't help but wonder about it.

Thankfully, anytime she came up from that chamber, a series of smells would usually waft up. With his exceptional sense of smell, he could at least guess that it was where she did her alchemical endeavors.

It wasn't as if he believed Gram had unspeakable horrors as secrets, but her look still bothered him.

Sitting around as the sun set and all of its light with it, he looked up to notice the moon approaching full. A few more nights and it would be as much.

He loved it. The sight, as well as the glow it cast upon the Earth. It felt invigorating and seemed to give everything a vibrance.

...well… except the human towns. He couldn't place why, but humans and their creations seemed void of this vibrance in the pale moonlight. Even when he closed his eyes, he could somehow feel it, like a cold spot in a warm room.

Seeing Scarlett eventually wrap herself up and get settled in on the chair near her hearth, Fen decided it was time to leave her be and let her rest, turning to leap from his high up position to the nearest tree.

00000000

He was in a conundrum and found only one solution could clear his mind well enough to forget those worries.

Drinking.

Glenn downed the third tankard of ale that night and slammed the empty cup on the thick wooden counter.

"One more, Barkeep!" he bellowed with fervor.

A tall and gangly gentleman pulled out a large pitcher and filled the tankard generously.

"You running up a tab or going to pay me?" the bartender asked with a small sliver of malice to his tone.

"Tab," the larger man belted out. "Had a low turnout for furs this week. I'll pay you next."

"Fine, but I need to be paid in a fortnight, otherwise I can't properly pay my supplier for more product. You don't pay up, I cut you off."

"Yeah yeah…" Glenn sighed in a low tone.

Two more men found a seat next to him, engaged in conversation already and continuing as they sat down.

"... the nerve to take my daughter into the woods at night!" one of them griped.

"All those predators in the woods on the hunt. You're kidding?" the other replied.

The first one frowned and huffed, "I meant he disrespected me by doing so… but yeah, that too I guess. Not to mention if a hunter got them, thinking they were something else."

"Don't get me started on that!" the second man grumbled. A tankard was offered to the two, with each giving the barkeep a few coins.

The former man turned and sipped his drink, smiling as he gestured and spoke, "Oh, no. Please… get started on that. I've belly ached enough for a couple of drunk bastards… and we haven't even gotten drunk yet. Your turn."

The latter let out a guffaw of laughter and wiped away a tear as he explained, "Went out hunting near the bluffs to the north. Soft dirt and lots of burrowing animals with good pelts. Anyways, two idiot youngsters come from that bluff with the really gnarled looking tree and are giggling like mad. I was all hunkered down and ready for a long wait. Almost shot them with my crossbow. Not to mention they probably scared off anything for me to hunt."

"Huh… well that's terrible," the first man agreed after another heavy swig of ale. "Know who they were?"

"Nah… the boy was no one I'd seen, but the young woman had a red cloak I could probably pick out if I saw it again."

The rest of their conversation was lost to Glenn as he seemed to focus on some hazy memories.

Red cloak.

He saw a girl at the Goods District wearing that. And he was very sure he'd seen that before.

With another heavy draw on his mug of ale, he nearly choked as something clicked. He vaguely recalled a girl wearing a red flowing cloak when he first found that beast in the woods.

He was definitely drunk and never quite remembered the whole thing, but he could now recall a few key details, sparked by that man's story. There was a girl in a red hood that he approached, then being lifted and pulled away by something very strong. Then… he never saw the face of the other entity there, but the silhouette was similar to that when he first saw the beast turn from one form to another.

Glenn then made a mental note of the hunter's story.

A bluff with a gnarly tree. He knew the area, but couldn't outright remember something fitting that.

Downing his drink, the large hunter left the empty tankard and quickly stomped from the pub, a newfound flame in his chest creating a new resolve to find his beast.

* * *

**I would give you all a lengthy and potentially idiotic afterword spiel... but honestly, my brain is a dry noodle right now. **

**So... I will only say i'm already pretty well into working on my next chapters for all my current stories and hope to complete them soon. **

**Until next time, It's been a hustle, Sweethearts!**


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